


The human heart

by Moonybird



Category: Tetsuwan Atom | Astro Boy
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-07 00:54:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 55,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17950487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonybird/pseuds/Moonybird
Summary: Based on the 2003 show. Two years after Doctor Tenma attempted to blow up the department of robotics with himself in it. He has been let out of prison on parol. Tenma wishes to right his wrongs and do better. But demons from the past wont go away so easily. Can Tenma ever live a normal life in society? Is it possible for him to reconnect with Astro his second son.This story was originally edited and fixed by MugetsuPiefox.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As I have never watched the english dub of this anime, but only it's original Japaneese dub with English subtitles. You may realise that a few names will be different than the English dub.  
> Most noticeable, Professor O'shay will go under his original name Professor Ochanomizu  
> Other name changes probably will be noticable, but keep in mind, these are all their original Japaneese names from the original dub.
> 
> This chapter has been beta read by MugetsuPiefox. Many thanks for your assistance to make this story a better exsperience for the reader.

"Are you perfectly sure about this?" Professor Ochanomizu asked in a genuinely concerned tone. "You don't have to, Astro. It is not a requirement."

Astro sighed deeply as he sat by the car seat next to Ochanomizu. It was a question the old professor had asked him again and again for the last three months. Yet Astro's mind had been made up long ago.

"He's still my father," Astro said. "He's sick, and he is going to need help. I just want to make sure he'll be okay."

And Ochanomizu sighed deeply. "Yes, so you say. Remember though, you do not need to feel obligated. Yes, he did create you but you have your own life. You don't have to do anything just because he wants you to do it."

"I know," Astro assured. "Besides, this was my idea, not his. I'm the one who wanted it."

"Big brother…" Uran breathed from the back seat.

It was two years ago now; two years ago since the great robot war with the Blue Knight, and shortly thereafter Doctor Tenma had tried to blow himself up inside of the Department of Robotics.

It was a pure miracle that no one had died that day. The building had been blown up, but they had managed to evacuate everyone and Astro had rescued Doctor Tenma.

After that, Tenma had become a broken man. The always so proud robotics engineer had walked with lowered shoulders and empty eyes as he did not resist arrest, and he pleaded guilty to all of his charges. Then he had been found guilty in multiple counts of terror attacks against the nation; however since no people had died in any of the attacks, thanks to Astro, his prison sentence was rather light.

To top that off, he had willingly agreed to repair broken robots from inside the prison, and had repaired many delicate entities not even the department of robotics could rescue.

Of course, any robot he had had his hands on had been under severe observation from the police and robotics institute, but there didn't seem to be anything wrong with them. And many important people had been so grateful towards him and his repairs that they had encouraged his early release.

Tenma himself had just quietly accepted the requests without asking for anything in return, and done his duty. He had done everything he had been asked to, and gone to psychiatric evaluation where he had been diagnosed with depression and post traumatic stress disorder, as well as a number of other illnesses. But Astro didn't really understand them and somehow they kept changing. Doctor Tenma, though, willingly took the anti-psychotic medication given to him and went to any therapy session asked of him. He was all around a quiet and willing prisoner, who never objected and never complained.

Which is exactly why only two years after, to this very day, Doctor Tenma was released from prison and was offered to go on parole.

Finally Ochanomizu drove into the parking lot of the prison building and Astro opened the window to take a look outside.

Astro knew this building very well by now; he had come to visit Doctor Tenma at least once a month for the past two years. Sometimes even several times a week. It all depended on what Astro was currently doing. If he had the time, though, he came.

However, for the first time in two years, Astro saw something he hadn't before: Doctor Tenma outside of the prison building, quietly sitting on a bench with closed eyes, leaning his head back as if to absorb the sunlight from above.

He was wearing the same clothes as the day he had been arrested, and beside him there was a small suitcase containing whatever things he had been allowed to have in prison.

"Father…" Astro breathed then yelled happily, "FATHER!"

Slowly Tenma opened his eyes then turned his head towards them as he smiled lightly.

Astro opened the car door immediately and ran straight towards Tenma, embracing him tightly. "Sorry we are late. I hope you haven't waited too long," he said.

Tenma smiled gently as he patted Astro on the head. "Don't worry, Astro. I enjoyed the sun and the fresh air," he said. "Besides, it's important that you keep up with your school. You shouldn't take classes off for this."

"Father, it's okay. I'll just study extra hard in the evening to catch up!" Astro exclaimed as two other people stepped out from the car.

Professor Ochanomizu and Uran both looked a bit hesitantly at Tenma. Tenma glanced away as Astro let go and turned around.

"Uran, you never really met my father before did you?" Astro asked with a smile.

Uran pouted. "He tried to take you away!" she accused as she pointed at Tenma. "He's a big meanie!"

"Uran!" Ochanomizu exclaimed, putting his hands on Uran's shoulders. "We talked about this; this is important to Astro."

"But I still don't understand!" Uran exclaimed. "Astro is my brother, and this man is Astro's father. But he's not my father, and I don't want him to be. I don't like it!"

Astro smiled, amused. "Uran, the thing is I've got two different fathers," he said. "Doctor Tenma is my father, and Professor Ochanomizu is also my father. The Professor is your father too, so we are still siblings."

Uran blinked. "Then what does that make him?" she asked, pointing at Tenma.

Tenma blinked, then looked away as he smiled in slight amusement but also a little sadly.

"Well, urhm..." Astro frowned. "He can be your uncle."

"I don't want that!" Uran exclaimed. "I don't want a meanie uncle!"

"Uran!" Ochanomizu exclaimed then sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, Doctor Tenma. She insisted on coming."

"She wanted to make sure Astro would be okay," Tenma nodded. "I understand that. Uran, look," he tried only for the little robotic girl to step backwards and Tenma halted. Then he sighed deeply. "I don't want to cause any more trouble," he then said. "It was… very kind of you to pick me up." He looked away.

There was an awkward silence among them, then, finally, Ochanomizu cleared his throat. "It's no problem. You are Astro's first father; that makes you family," he said. "Even if… anyway." He shook his head. "I'm sure you'll like the apartment Astro picked for you."

"Heh, I couldn't really save your house," Astro admitted. "Besides, I think perhaps it'll be better if we don't go there. Start over, you know? The apartment is nice! It's right next to the park!" Astro beamed. "There's sunshine and fresh air; it'll be good for you!" he said. "And it's not very far from my school so I won't have far to go, either."

Tenma frowned then looked at Astro. "Are you sure about this, Astro?" he asked. "Why would you even want to live with me? Even if it only is for a while."

Astro blinked. "You're my father," he said.

"But living together?" Tenma asked. "The last two times…" he halted then squinted his eyes.

"This time will be different," Astro said. "Because you changed, and I changed as well. I believe in you, father. The human heart is capable of amazing things; it can grow and evolve! You can grow and evolve, too. I know you can."

"Grow huh?" Tenma asked. "Evolve… the human heart," he breathed and closed his eyes. "Astro… How do you think I should start?" he asked.

Astro blinked.

"I never listened to you before. I think perhaps it's time I listen to you," Tenma said as he held a hand over his heart. "Maybe then things won't go so badly. I promise this time I'll listen."

"Then listen to this, you big meanie!" Uran proclaimed. "You'd better treat Astro nicely! And if he suddenly stops coming to visit me, I'll know it was you! I'll come for you," she stated. "If you try to take Astro away again I won't ever forgive you! Astro is Astro; he is not your toy designed for your benefit! He has his own life to live!"

"URAN!" Astro exclaimed. However, suddenly Tenma chuckled, amused. Gaping, Astro looked at him.

"Sorry," Tenma shook his head. "It's really a shame Uran wasn't around to tell me that years ago. It would have saved all of us a lot of trouble. I needed that pounded into my head," he sighed. "You're pretty smart, aren't you, Uran?"

Uran blinked then blushed. "Well I..." she smirked.

"Yup! My little sister is super smart!" Astro beamed. "And remember, Uran, of course I'll come see you really often. But you can also come see me to at the apartment! One of these days we should all go do something! Something fun! So we can make new memories."

"New memories…" Tenma breathed.

"Can we go to the zoo?" Uran asked. "Professor! I want to go to the zoo! They say the giraffe had a child!"

Tenma smiled a little, amused, and Astro turned to him. "What do you say father?" he asked. "Do you want to come to the zoo with us?"

"That sounds…" Tenma hesitated. "Nice."

"Then that's it, we'll all go to the Zoo real soon," Astro smiled.

Uran didn't look entirely happy with the prospect, but this time she kept quiet.

"I will look forward to it," Tenma said in a gentle voice.


	2. Freedom?

The drive from the prison facility was a quiet affair. Tenma had taken the front seat next to Ochanomizu and Astro was sitting in the back with Uran.

Soon Astro and Uran began to play on the backseat, poking at each other and laughing. It was pretty good though, because Tenma didn't say anything at all and it started to become rather awkward for Ochanomizu.

Finally, the professor cleared his throat. "So, you must have been looking forward to get out of prison," he commented.

Tenma shrugged. "I suppose a private home is nicer than a cell," he said, though it didn't sound like he was very enthusiastic about it at all.

"Astro has been very excited about it," Ochanomizu then said. "He talked to the major and all the news outlets himself. He's been campaigning for your release."

"Yes I know; he informed me himself," Tenma replied. "The major even came to visit me, just to tell me it was because of Astro I was released, and he thought I should rot for another ten years at least. Not my words, his."

"Oh… I see," Ochanomizu blinked. "That must have been… upsetting."

"No," Tenma breathed as he leaned his head in his hand. "Not really."

Ochanomizu blinked as he glanced at Tenma, it was incredibly nerve wracking indeed. This man beside him, he seemed outright docile. That wasn't at all like the Doctor Tenma he knew; neither the young idealistic man before Tobio died or the proud ideologue he had later become. Even if his ideas at the time had been rather… insane. Tenma had always been full of energy; a certain power and aura had always seemed to emit from him.

But, now, there was nothing there. Tenma's eyes looked empty; he didn't look excited about his own freedom nor the future. He was just looking out at the road without really seeing anything.

Briefly Ochanomizu had to wonder if it was because Tenma was under heavy influence of drugs to help him with his mental ailments. But he quickly came to the conclusion that even if that was part of it, it was not the entire explanation.

Finally they reached the centre of Metro city, a big apartment building. Together they all took the elevator to one of the top floors and walked down the hallway before finally they stood in front of the correct door.

Tenma glanced at it. "It's unlocked," he observed. "Someone is already in there."

"Ah yes. Yuko should be waiting for us," Ochanomizu nodded. "And well… other officials," he admitted rubbing his neck.

Tenma glanced at him.

"The police wanted to make sure you came directly to this apartment," Astro then admitted.

Tenma smirked grimly amused. "I see, this thing wasn't good enough for them," he commented, raising his hand to reveal a metal bracelet on it.

"Whoa, that's pretty," Uran gaped.

"It's a tracker," Astro realized. "And…" his eyes glinted for a while. "It's heat sensitive; if you take it off so it loses the heat radiating from your arm, and can't feel a pulse anymore, it will notify the police."

"Indeed," Tenma nodded. "They should know I did indeed go here directly by just looking at a computer."

"Oh, come now," Ochanomizu tried. "We all know it would be very easy for you to build a robotic machine to trick the bracelet if you so wished. Please just cooperate with the police. For Astro's sake."

Tenma exhaled deeply. "Yes indeed," he said as he opened the door and stepped inside, alerting a woman to their presence as she appeared in the doorway with a pink robot next to her.

"Ah! Doctor Tenma!" Yuko beamed. "Welcome to your new home! Astro, Uran, professor, I hope you had a good trip." She smiled as another person became visible, a certain detective with an odd mustachio.

"Detective Gumshoe!" Astro gaped. "You're on this case?"

"I volunteered," Gumshoe admitted. "I wanted to make sure that Professor Tenma wouldn't be a problem for you. So I shall keep a close on him for the next three months until his evaluation. Be warned, Tenma, if I see any funny business coming from you it's back to prison! Astro's wishes be damned."

Tenma shrugged. "Yes sir," he sighed deeply. "I'll do my best."

"You don't need to worry detective!" Astro beamed. "My father is going to do his best; it'll be okay!"

"If not, I sincerely hope you'll notify us at once," a third voice sounded, a woman from the living room.

Astro darted into the living room and looked in. "Mrs Yukata!" he beamed.

The woman in there was mature and elegant, with long straight blonde hair collected in a ponytail. She was wearing a strict business suit and wore glasses. All in all she looked very professional.

"Yes indeed, I shall continue to look over Doctor Tenma's health," she said. She had been Tenma's doctor and psychologist for the past year.

Tenma nodded.

"Astro," Yukata spoke, "I need you to make sure that Doctor Tenma take his pills every single day and that he goes to all the therapy sessions assigned to him. In the first month, I will come daily to make sure myself, after that I'll only come weekly and hopefully eventually I won't be needed at all. However, while I am here, I sincerely hope you'll take advantage of it. If you see any odd behavior coming from your father, any anger outbursts or refusal to follow the program, don't hesitate to inform me."

"I will," Astro assured. "I'm sure it won't be needed though."

Tenma looked away.

"Well, it'll be okay if he's a little angry once in a while right?" Astro asked. "I mean, that's just my father. He always had a pretty big temper."

Yukata sent Astro a sharp look. "Indeed, expressing emotions is healthy. But in Tenma's case," she frowned, "just don't let it get out of control."

"It'll be fine!" Tenma suddenly hissed, annoyed. "I'm not an animal."

Yukata lifted an eyebrow. "Then prove it. Control yourself, Doctor Tenma."

"Hmph," Tenma turned his head away.

Gumshoe sighed. "Doctor Tenma, you already know the rules. Don't you?"

"Yes indeed," Tenma nodded. "I am not to leave this apartment without supervision, the supervisor is allowed to take me to the park and grocery store. If I wish to go any further than that I must ask for special clearance. I am required to take the medication which has been handed to me, and I am not allowed to skip therapy sessions or any psychiatric visits. Anything else?"

Gumshoe nodded. "Yes, your computer, internet and phone will all be monitored. You are allowed to build and repair robots if you wish to do so, but they will need to be inspected regularly by Astro and Professor Ochanomizu."

Tenma lifted an eyebrow.

"I made a workshop for you, right here in the apartment!" Astro then injected with a smile. "It has a fully functional working table and engineer equipment. It's not the newest, but things that were discarded from the Institute. Still, I'm sure you can build some amazing things in there."

"Oh," Tenma blinked. "Really? That's… That's nice Astro."

Astro blinked. "That doesn't make you happy?" he asked. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you would like it."

"Oh, I… I'm sure I'd like it. I mean," Tenma bit his lip, "I erh…"

"You were still building robots when you were in prison, weren't you?"

"No," Tenma shook his head. "I didn't… I only made minor repairs. The last fully functional robot I build was Shadow. And he… erhm."

"Father," Astro breathed. "Well, you can build things other than robots. Whatever you want to do, it's yours now!"

"Thank you, Astro," Tenma breathed.

Gumshoe huffed as he walked towards Tenma. "Astro is a much better son than you deserve," he stated in a low whisper so only Tenma could hear.

Tenma exhaled deeply. "Then we agree on something."

"You know, perhaps it's time for us to leave now," Yuko commented. "Let Astro and Tenma settle in. I mean, would you like that Doctor Tenma? We can stay as well."

Tenma groaned as he held a hand on his forehead. "Do what you want," he said simply.

Ochanomizu sighed deeply. "Come Uran, time to say goodbye to Astro. We'll go see again tomorrow for breakfast."

Uran swallowed. "He is really going to stay here?" he asked.

"Only for a little while," Astro smiled lightly. "So no, you can't have my room!"

"I don't want your stupid room. I want you to live at home!"

"And I do," Astro promised. "This is just for a while. And we'll still see each other every day at school and other places."

"Then what is the point?" Uran asked.

"I think Tenma and Astro have a lot of catching up to do," Yuko then said with a light smile.

"Astro probably also wants to make sure all his hard work won't be for nothing," Tenma added. "That I won't commit another terrorist attack."

"Father! That's not it!" Astro exclaimed. "That's not it at all!"

"It's okay, Astro. If I were in your position I would be afraid of it as well," Tenma assured. "I hope though, that one day you won't have to be afraid of me anymore."

"I'm not afraid of you," Astro said.

"Really?" Tenma asked, looking at Astro. "You should be, you know."

"You won't hurt me."

"Astro…" Tenma exhaled. "Perhaps the question isn't even if I wish or not wish to hurt you. I'm the one person in the world capable of building something to deactivate you. You have many enemies, enemies whom won't be afraid of trying to use me against you. Are you really ready to deal with all of that?"

"I'll protect you!" Astro exclaimed. "And you won't hurt me, I know you won't."

"Know or believe?" Tenma asked. "Those are two very different things, Astro."

For some time there was silence as people awkwardly looked at the two.

Ochanomizu sighed deeply. "Come on, Uran," he said. "Astro, your room at home with us always stands ready for you. And if you need anything, anything at all, don't hesitate to call."

"I know," Astro assured.

"Take care of yourself, Astro," Yuko asked and Astro nodded.

"I will."

 

* * *

 

 

Finally, after what seemed like forever, everyone but Astro and Tenma had left the apartment. Tenma exhaled deeply.

Astro blushed as he scratched his cheek. "Sorry about that," he said.

"No, it's fine. Those people care for you, it's only right that they are concerned about you being in such close proximity to me," Tenma said as he walked into the living room with his suitcase and finally placed it on the table. "To be honest, I was quite surprised as well when you came to me and talked about this idea. And now you've even gone through with it. You do stun me, Astro."

"I just..." Astro swallowed. "I want to make sure you settle in well. I read that loneliness and lacking a sense of purpose is a huge problem among people just released from prisons."

Tenma smiled, mildly amused. "You don't have to worry about me being alone. I am accustomed to being alone."

"Oh... okay." Astro blinked. "Hey let me show you the rest of the apartment!" he beamed. "As you can see, this is the living room!" he presented. "And in here is the kitchen," he opened the door to reveal a very neat and modern kitchen. "Yuko said she would stock up the fridge, so you shouldn't lack food for a while! And over here!" he grabbed Tenma's hand, pulling him into the hallway and opened a door.

"This is your bedroom!" he announced, gesturing to a plain but neat bedroom with one single bed, a closet and night table. "There're some clothes from your old house in the closet, but we should go shopping in the next few days. We just need to tell Detective Gumshoe that we will be going," he said. "My room is right here across from yours!" Astro opened another door revealing a bookshelf with books, a closet, and a table with wires on it clearly meant for Astro to recharge on at night. "That's the bathroom down there." Astro pointed. "And this!" he beamed as he walked to the last door and opened it, "Is your very own workshop!"

Tenma blinked before finally he walked over to Astro and glanced inside. True enough, there was a workshop with a work table and different engineering equipment. Tools were neatly organised on the wall, there were small boxes with all sort of robotic parts, and, of course, a nice big desk by the wall. Stunned, Tenma walked in and looked around, then he glanced at the desk and laid a hand on it.

"As I said before, all the equipment was discarded from the Ministry of Science. You know, they always update to the newest things. So it's not even really outdated, it's just not the newest of the new," Astro informed him. "And all the parts are leftover from the development team. I picked them up myself."

"It's… very nice." Tenma said and then he blinked as he saw two empty photo frames standing on the table.

"I found those at the store," Astro said. "You still have those photos of me and Tobio right? I thought that maybe… you would like to frame them."

Tenma swallowed and he suddenly found the need to suppress some tears that threatened to come through. "Yes, I would," he said. "Thank you, Astro."

Astro smiled. "I know, you should build a camera!" he said. "Then you can take a bunch of new pictures when we visit the zoo!"

Tenma smiled, a little amused. "Wouldn't it be easier to just buy a camera?"

"Well maybe, but what's the fun in that?" Astro asked. "Beside, the optic controls in my robot eyes are far superior to human eyes and regular cameras. Imagine what you could do if you applied the optical technology from my eyes into a camera?"

"Hmm," Tenma frowned. "You know what, that is interesting."

"You could even apply scanners to the camera itself."

"Well..." Tenma glanced at all the discarded robotic parts. "Your eyes are built from very rare and very expensive top quality nano products," he said. "These parts are all very nice for common technology and robots, but I'm afraid nothing here is on par with what went into your eyes. Besides, I would need to work on a nano table with fibers in microscopic size. I'm afraid this workshop isn't quite at that level."

"Oh," Astro realised. "Huh, you also made my eyes from scratch didn't you?"

"Of course I did," Tenma said. "Your sight, your sense of smell, your hearing, your sense of touch... It was all very important to me that it would be as authentic as possible. I developed your skin to be sensitive so you could feel wind, heat, and cold. It was an entirely new fabric I created."

"Wow really?" Astro asked. "Wow, there are a lot of small things that went into creating me I haven't even thought about aren't there?"

Tenma exhaled. "I wanted to make you perfect; the perfect robot. Normal people should not be able to tell you apart from a human being. Able to feel, able to see, hear, and smell. I programmed you to like all the things Tobio liked, to dislike all the things he disliked… Although all of this were just mere technicalities. Somehow you acquired a heart of your own." He glanced at Astro. "I have no idea how that happened."

Astro blinked. "So… my heart is an accident?".

"Well, it wasn't intentional," Tenma replied, "but I wouldn't call it an accident, either. Somehow, you just became something far greater than I could ever have imagined. You became something more than just a robot, just a copy. You became your own person. I was just unable to see that before it was too late."

"It's not too late," Astro pointed out. "You're here now, and so am I. One of these days we'll got to the zoo. You can get to know Uran, too."

Tenma smiled, amused, then he frowned. "How did I do it though?" he asked almost to himself. "I know how I made your eyes, your memory circuit and your skin but… how did I manage to make that heart. How?"

Astro blinked. "Is it really that important?"

Tenma frowned.

"Father?" Astro prompted. Tenma blinked then he shook his head.

"You're right. I'm not going to build any more robots anyway, so what's the point?" Tenma exhaled.

"You're not?"

"No," Tenma shook his head. "Whenever I build a robot, it always leads to some kind of disaster. It's a fool's errand. The last time I built a robot, it nearly started a war that would have killed thousands of robots and even more humans. You nearly died… What would it be like with the next one? World destruction maybe?"

"Oh… Erhm," Astro swallowed.

Tenma chuckled. "It's okay, Astro. The world is better off this way." He walked out of the office and past Astro towards the kitchen.

"But..." Astro swallowed, watching after him. "Robots are your life! You can't just… Father."


	3. Unique

Astro was a robot, so he didn't really need sleep. However, he liked to shut down his systems and recharge at night so he would be fully charged in the morning. In a sense, it was a way for him to emulate sleep, though he didn't actually need to recharge every single night. As long as he wasn't in any big fights or other crises, he could go on for weeks without recharging. Which is why no one would be any the wiser that Astro had barely been shut down that night.

Astro had let his sensors stay turned on as he had shut down his other programs, only to soon have it react, and the rest of him turned on as a result. The human sleeping in the bedroom opposite his, Tenma… His breathing was irregular, his pulse heightened, and his heartbeat abnormally fast.

Turning on the scanners in his eyes, Astro took a peek and confirmed that Tenma was in bed as he was supposed to, and he was asleep. Apparently Tenma had entered REM sleep, and so the abnormal bodily behavior suggested he was having a nightmare.

Astro remained quiet; he wasn't really sure how to react. Since he was a robot, he didn't have dreams himself. Sometimes old memories played for him while he was partially shut down, sometimes even Tobio's memories that had been implanted in him. But apparently human dreams were much more abstract than that. Human dreams were supposedly like the book Alice in Wonderland. An experience where everything just became very, very odd.

Astro had read Alice in Wonderland many times trying to understand this dream concept, but he had honestly failed to figure out what a white rabbit with a clock and a Mad Hatter trapped by time – so it would always be one minute to tea time – had to do with each other.

Then suddenly Tenma, in the other room, sat up straight. With his scanners, Astro could see the man sitting up in bed, gasping for air. He could even hear how he was gasping. And he could sense the warmth resulting from a heightened pulse. Then Tenma left his bed, and headed out to the kitchen. Astro kept following him with his scanners as Tenma walked to the window and opened it. Tenma stood there for a while, six minutes and 32 seconds to be exact, before he headed to the kitchen sink and grabbed a glass of water. He drank a mouthful of it, then headed to the window and closed it, before going back towards his bedroom with the remaining water.

But before he reached it, he stopped and turned the other way; towards Astro's room where Astro was still sitting.

Quietly, Astro lay back down and turned off his scanners so it looked like he was completely turned off just as the door opened. Now Astro couldn't see, but he could hear. Tenma stood in the doorway. He could hear his slow breathing and footsteps.

Tenma walked inside the room and soon after Astro felt a blanket being gently draped around him as he was tucked in. Then Tenma quietly left the room again, gently closing the door. Astro could hear him opening the door to his own bedroom and going back to bed.

Though as Astro turned his sensors back on, he could sense that Tenma's body wasn't relaxed at all; it was tense and uneasy. Not like when other humans slept.

When Ochanomizu slept his breathing was always slow and heavy, and often he would even snore. His heart beat as well would be slow and his body relaxed. Tenma was the complete opposite of that: his breathing sharp and quick, his body tense, his heartbeat heightened. Astro had to wonder if that was in any way healthy for humans.

He would have to look that up the next day.

Astro kept an eye on Tenma for the rest of the night, but never did he observe Tenma's body relax. Tenma would wake several times, but he didn't get out of bed again, not before six o'clock in the morning, when he rose to walk to the kitchen and make coffee.

So… Tenma had obviously given up on sleep for the night. According to Astro's database, humans needed between six and eight hours of sleep to stay functional. Tenma had gotten the grand total of two hours, twenty minutes and forty-five seconds. That probably wasn't a very good sign.

Astro, though, decided to stay still in his bed for another half hour until he had originally set his programs to start up again, and finally at 6:30 AM, he walked to the living room to meet his father, who was quietly sitting with a cup of coffee and a newspaper.

In a way this was really strange, the way Tenma looked so much like the way he did in many of Tobio's memories. In those he would also quite often sit like that with coffee and a newspaper in the morning while Tobio played around on the floor.

Tenma lowered the paper as he regarded Astro. "Good morning, Astro."

Astro blinked as his head fell askew. Tenma had dark circles under his eyes, and his skin looked rather pale. But now that he thought about it, he had also looked like that the day before. He always looked like that. Did he ever sleep properly?

"Did you sleep okay?" Astro asked, as if he didn't know already.

"Yes, it's a very comfortable bed you've gotten me. Certainly better than those prison brinks," Tenma nodded. "How about you, Astro?"

"My batteries are fully charged; my recharge was flawless," Astro replied. It wasn't really a lie – he had been charging all night. "Professor Ochanomizu and Uran will be arriving in half an hour for breakfast. Of course Uran can't eat, but I think Professor Ochanomizu will be expecting something."

"Of course," Tenma said as he stood up. "I saw there were bread and spreads in the fridge. That should be fine. Will you help me set the table Astro?".

Astro smiled. "Sure father!"

Tenma hesitated as he turned to Astro. "You do realize you don't have to call me father, don't you?" he asked. "It was very kind of you to do so in prison, but now we are here."

Astro blinked, confused. "I don't understand. Isn't that what you want?".

"It is," Tenma said. "You don't call Ochanomizu father, though, and he is more of a father to you than I ever was. I don't wish to be called father out of pity," he muttered now sounding annoyed. He had almost spat out that last word, 'pity'.

"If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be alive," Astro blinked. "You made me; I know your all went into every little line in the original drawings for me, and every little detail on my body. So you're my father. It is not an incorrect statement."

Tenma frowned. "Even so, you didn't call me it before," he said. "Only after I was send to prison."

"I didn't think you loved me back then," Astro replied, a little abashed as he glanced down. Tenma blinked. "It's okay though, we grow and evolve," he said. "Both you and me. Things just change sometimes. And usually that's a good thing."

For a moment Tenma looked at Astro, his body became tense, and for a moment Astro was afraid he had said something wrong, that Tenma would have an outburst, but then he exhaled deeply and his body seemed to relax.

"You sure have evolved, Astro," he said.

"You too, father." Astro smiled.

"Have I?" Tenma glanced away.

"Yes, I believe so," Astro nodded. "You just don't know it yet." He headed towards the cupboards and found plates for the dining table.

Together, Astro and Tenma managed to set the table. It didn't take long before it was a nice and inviting looking breakfast table. Astro even flew down from the balcony to pick up some flowers from the park, and as he returned Tenma was already standing ready with a little vase, which Astro happily put the flowers into.

"Uran loves flowers on the table!" he smiled.

"I see," Tenma nodded. "Does she have a favorite flower?"

"Yes! She loves sunflowers!" Astro said. "And lilies and roses and erhm…"

Tenma lifted an eyebrow. "You can't tell what her favorite is?"

"They are all her favorite," Astro shrugged, looking up.

Tenma frowned in annoyance. "If they are all her favorite that negates the purpose of a favorite."

"Does it?"

"Yes!" Tenma hissed.

"Oh," Astro blinked. "Well, I'll ask her what her real favorite is then. Though I think she'll probably have changed her mind again as soon as she sees another flower."

Tenma exhaled deeply. "For a robot, Uran is quite aloof isn't she?"

"Yeah, kind of," Astro smiled. "But that's also what makes Uran Uran!"

"Hmm," Tenma glanced away.

Astro blinked. "Father, are you okay?" he asked. "Did I upset you?"

"No," Tenma said. "Forgive me, Astro, I just have a hard time truly understanding what makes a robot heart. It frustrates me."

"How so?"

"Imagine you build a clock," Tenma tried to explain. "Every little cog and wheel is there for a reason; it is to make the clock run, and it does indeed run perfectly. But then suddenly one day the clock starts to speak to you. Even though it has no audio output, it shouldn't be able to speak, it has none of the components it logically needed to speak, it wasn't designed to speak. Every little wheel and cog so carefully put together to make it show the time but nothing else; a perfect instrument for its assigned purpose. It makes sense, and yet it speaks! Which makes no sense; everything was logical to that point! So what happened?"

"Maybe it was possessed by a ghost?" Astro suggested.

Tenma blinked, astounded, then he couldn't help but smirk before he chuckled, and then outright laughed.

Astro was first confused and a little concerned, but then he smiled.

"Ghost… Perhaps," Tenma composed himself. "It's a good an explanation as any, I suppose."

The doorbell rang and Astro beamed.

"That must be professor Ochanomizu and Uran!" he cheered as he ran to the door and soon a yell sounded. "PROFESSOR! URAN!"

"BIG BROTHER!" Uran shouted.

Tenma walked to the entrance to peek outside and saw Uran hugging Astro tightly.

"Are you okay?" she asked, grabbing Astro's face. "Did he mess with your systems? You still know who we are, right?"

"Of course I do," Astro reassured her. "I told you, those things won't happen."

"Hmph!" Uran huffed. "Let me be the judge of that!" She walked around Astro and he nearly twirled to follow her with his eyes. "A-huh, a-huh," Uran murmured as she looked up and down as if she were some kind of expert. She poked at the spikes that made Astro's hair, glared into his eyes, making Astro blink, and knocked on his chest, before finally she exhaled deeply and stood back. "Well, seems like you're clear. For now."

Astro smiled in amusement. "Thanks Uran."

"Not yet! I need a second opinion. Professor!" Uran exclaimed and Ochanomizu shook his head in amusement.

"Astro looks fine to me," he assured. "And I trust your assessment, Uran."

"You'd better!"

"Seriously, Uran," Astro smiled. "Father hasn't even touched me. You don't have to worry. It's okay."

Uran exhaled deeply.

Finally, Ochanomizu glanced up and looked at Tenma. "Good morning, Dr Tenma. How was your first night?"

Tenma shrugged. "Uneventful."

"Father and I stayed up and played checkers last night," Astro added. "It was nice."

"Did you remember to turn off your analytical program?" Ochanomizu asked. "Remember when we talked about cheating."

"I did," Astro said, "and father kept winning. Then he asked me to turn it on."

"Then what happened?" Uran asked.

"I finally won, but just barely," Astro admitted, making Ochanomizu smile.

"May I offer you a cup of coffee, Professor Ochanomizu?" Tenma finally asked.

"Oh yes!" Ochanomizu smiled thankfully as he took off his hat. "You wouldn't happen to have a bit of bread as well? Uran really pulled me out as fast as possible and Yuko will be here in an hour to be on my case and make sure I make it to the board meeting."

Tenma nodded. "Astro thought you might wanted some breakfast, so we set the table." He gestured invitingly towards the living room.

Soon the adults were seated and the two robot children was chasing each other around on the floor, laughing and playing.

Tenma looked at the two robots. "Is this normal for these two?"

"Yes indeed," Ochanomizu nodded. "It is quite fortunate they are so fond of each other. I know it's not always the way siblings are. But they're good children who like to take care of each other."

"I see," Tenma nodded as he poured himself another cup of coffee. "Uran is based on my original blue prints for Astro, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is," Ochanomizu nodded. "She's not quite as advanced as Astro, but I think I managed the most important part."

"Oh? And that is?"

"She has a heart of her own," Ochanomizu smiled warmly. "Next to that, why does it matter if she has a less advanced body?"

Tenma frowned as looked at Ochanomizu, puzzled over his words. "Quite ironic isn't it?" he asked.

Ochanomizu blinked. "What is?"

"My robots," Tenma replied. "I don't really understand humans or human emotions, but yet my robots seem to run on nothing but human emotions. My robots understand people better than I do. In a way, they are better human beings than I am. Quite ironic isn't it?"

Stunned, Ochanomizu looked at Tenma. "Well…" he tried, but was lost for words. "Erhm… It's quite relative what a good human being is, isn't it?" He wished he could just bite his own tongue off. Even he could hear how absolutely pathetic that sentence sounded.

Tenma, though, smiled, quite amused. "I would dare say people deemed good human beings don't tend to blow up buildings or build robots with the intention of killing humans."

"Dr Tenma, why bring this up now?" Ochanomizu asked, sounding utterly defeated. "You're out of prison. Astro believes you can do better, why not try and figure out what good things you can do with your incredible gifts?"

"What? You think I should work further with the development of the AI?"

"Well, yes," Ochanomizu said. "Astro, he is still so unique. Try as I may, I can't replicate such a result. Uran was quite close, but without your original blueprints it would have been impossible to make her, and even so Astro exceeds her in so many ways. There is still so much to explore in the relation between humans and robots."

Tenma frowned. "Think of what you're saying, Ochanomizu. Do you really want me to re-enter the department of science?" he asked. "Work with the newest equipment and unlimited funds? Remember what I was able to do using only scraps I was able to pick up and purchase while being on the run, my only workshop being run down and in the middle of nowhere with equipment I had to modify myself for it to even function. Would you feel safe to let me go unsupervised in a lab once more?"

That made Ochanomizu halt and he swallowed. "Well," he admitted.

"Don't you think I noticed the cameras and sensors in the workshop Astro made for me? And a bug inside of the picture frame? I must admit, I find that to be a bit low, even for my own standards." Tenma stated a little coldly.

Ochanomizu sighed deeply. "I'm sorry. Astro didn't want those things in there but the police insisted that if you were to have access to robotics they wanted to be able to monitor you."

Tenma lifted an eyebrow, then held up his arm to showcase the bracelet with the tracker. He didn't have to say any more and Ochanomizu glanced away.

"It matters not, though," Tenma sighed. "There will never be another one like Astro. He is unique, even I would not be able to replicate him. And besides, I will not work further on AI." He picked up his coffee cup and took a sip. "Creating AIs, giving robots… hearts is what you call it isn't it? It makes things too unpredictable; it will always lead to disaster."

Ochanomizu sighed deeply. "I'm sad you see it that way," he said. "Especially considering you created the best AI in the entire world. And I know you love him too." He glanced at the laughing Astro sitting on the floor with Uran.

Tenma frowned. "I don't know how I did it," he said. "I have no logical answer, that's why I cannot replicate it. And Astro will always be unique."

"I see," Ochanomizu sighed. "Somehow, that does make sense. Astro always was… unique. There's something about him just can't be explained."

"Exactly," Tenma nodded.


	4. Tables turned

It wasn't too long before it was time for Astro and Uran to go to school, and in the same breath Ochanomizu stated that he had to leave for his board meeting as well.

Well that was one thing Tenma did not envy him for; he remembered very well all the board meetings he always had to attend while being the leader of the robotics institution and he had hated it like the pest it was. It had, quite simply, just been a waste of his time and his talents.

Tenma wasn't allowed peace and quiet for too long, though. He had only just managed to put away all the breakfast items when Doctor Yukata stepped through the door, ready with her notepad and little robot levitating next to her.

That robot may have looked little and cute but it was no laughing matter; the thing was armed with tazers and tranquilizers in case of an emergency in regards to violent patients. Not just that, it had scanners able to read heartbeats, body temperature, and it could measure the chemical proportions in your body. It was a powerful little thing.

Yukata, though, didn't hesitate to take her place on the couch with her notepad and her pen. Tenma merely stood by the window, looking out towards the park. He only had to glance a bit downwards to see a certain Detective Gumshoe standing behind a bush, yet he was only half hidden.

"Now then, Doctor Tenma, how are you enjoying your first day of freedom?" Yukata asked.

Tenma smirked with grim amusement. "I think it is rather debatable whether you could call this freedom," he glanced at the bright light that indicated a sensor in the corner of his eye.

"The surveillance will gradually lessen," Yukata replied. "All you have to do is follow the rules and relax."

Finally, Tenma turned to Yukata and regarded her with a tired expression. "I know," he sighed deeply. "Technically, the surveillance here is not any different than at prison."

Yukata nodded. "I am glad you realize that. So how has your first night been?"

"Uneventful," Tenma shrugged, repeating the answer he had given to Ochanomizu when he had asked that same question.

"Astro decided to spend the night here as well, didn't he?" Yukata asked. "How was that?"

"It was…" Tenma hesitated, then frowned. That one was not so easy to answer. He was very touched that Astro would do this for him, and he did enjoy the robot's company; his mere presence did indeed feel soothing. Though, at the same time, to receive pity from the boy he had put into the world and forced so many hardships upon was a bitter pill to swallow. And sometimes Tenma had to question if Astro was looking over him so he wouldn't feel lonely, or to make sure he didn't do something crazy. "Acceptable," he finished. "Astro is no trouble at all; he's very organized and quiet. And when I went to bed he simply shut himself down."

Not true. Astro's sensors had been active the entire night. Tenma had easily figured that out from the way certain metals within his alarm clock had vibrated in response to sensory lasers sent in his direction. But Tenma had already decided not to say anything and let Astro do what he wanted.

"It must be nice, though, to have someone waiting for you outside of prison. Not many convicts have that luxury. Most are left to their own devices in a empty house at a place they don't know anyone," Yukata pointed out. "You know a lot of people in this city don't you?"

"I am acquainted with many people. And there are even more people acquainted with me whose names and faces I don't even remember. I don't know if I would call any of them friends."

"And then of course you are quite famous; we're quite lucky there haven't been any reporters getting news of your release."

Tenma shrugged. "They'll find out sooner or later, then they'll come, they'll grow bored, and go away. The mass media aren't exactly the most loyal bunch."

Yukata looked at Tenma. "So what do you plan to do for the rest of today?"

Tenma shrugged. "Astro talked about going to the park when he comes home from school. He can act as my supervisor."

"And you intend to go?"

"It's what Astro wants." Tenma replied shortly.

"Is that the only reason why you'll go?" Yukata pressed. "Because it's what Astro wants?".

"I suppose it's as good as any reason."

"So you would do the things Astro wants you to do?"

"Astro didn't want me to die; that's why I am still alive right now," Tenma stated simply. "Astro wanted me to work with the system, and he wanted me to be released from prison. It was Astro who wanted me to move here, so here I am. It's cause and effect."

Yukata looked at Tenma, who stared right back.

"The tables have been turned," Tenma continued. "I used to regard Astro as my project, now I am his. Whatever he wants me to do, I intend to follow suit. You people are lucky my son is a person who hates violence above all else. That's the reason why you are all quite safe."

Yukata watched Tenma blankly for a moment, then frowned. "I see," she said. "You've accepted you have no control, so you've taken a complete u-turn and handed control to Astro. How irresponsible of you."

Tenma shrugged. "You people should be happy," he said. "It means the world will be safe from this terrorist." He halted, glancing over Yukata's shoulder where he could just see a slight glimmer of a mini-robot, and Tenma frowned.

Another surveillance computer, but this one did not belong to the police or the institute. He was being watched by a third party, some vigilante. Not too surprising really; there were many people out for both his life and his talents, and for many different reasons. The question was whether or not he should take that little robot seriously or not. Tenma squinted his eyes and then turned his head away.

Yukata, however, didn't seemed like she had noticed anything off as she wrote on her notepad. "Doctor Tenma," she proceeded, "you have been known to be rather obsessive compulsive, you crave order in your everyday life. In that way your taste for robots over humans does make quite a lot of sense. It is quite good you came to realize that you don't have total control over everything, but you cannot just give up control to others either." She gave him a pointed glance, "If you wish to succeed you must take control of your own life once again, and not rely so much on Astro."

"Hmm, hmm," Tenma shrugged. It was hard to say if he didn't care or simply wasn't listening.

"Doctor Tenma," Yukata snapped.

"Astro can do with me as he pleases," Tenma said. "If he one day gets tired with me and leaves, I will only consider that fair."

"Surely you are not implying Astro is the only reason you stay alive?"

"What if he is?" Tenma asked. "He's the one who said very clearly that he didn't want me to die. As I said, though, you are lucky he is such a good boy who detests any form of violence. Astro has a theory, you know."

"And what is this theory?"

"Astro theorizes that like how robot hearts evolve and grow, a human's does as well," Tenma explained. "Astro believes my heart is still evolving, so I shall see what he intends to do next."

"You really insist at looking at yourself as a specimen," Yukata exhaled deeply.

"Of course I'm a specimen," Tenma replied. "Right now I am your specimen; you have given me several diagnoses to determine how to treat this specimen of yours, and you have names for the things you are supposed to do, how to make him as normal as possible. I suppose, in a way, we are all specimens. Trapped in this big petri dish we fancy calling life."

Yukata frowned, then sternly looked at Tenma. "Can you then honestly say to me that you don't care whether you live or die?"

"I don't care," Tenma said. "I don't care what happens to me, so you can add an extra diagnose to your little journal if you want. Though since I don't actively search my own death, I am not sure suicidal is a correct diagnose at all. Although you do like your labels. It makes specimens so much easier to talk about."

Yukata frowned at Tenma, then she smirked. "Hmph," she commented. "Even when you've decided to give up control, you want to showcase that you're the one controlling the room."

"Old habits die hard I suppose."

Yukata sighed deeply. "Now then, for now your days can include things such as Astro and visits from me, but eventually you are going to be on your own. Do you have any idea what you plan to do then?"

Tenma shrugged. "I still have a substantial amount of money in the bank, so financially I should be alright on my own."

"That's an even better reason to find something to spend your time on."

"Are you suggesting I get a hobby?" Tenma raised a brow.

"For starters," Yukata replied. "Surely there must be things you enjoy doing."

Tenma shrugged. "I have enjoyed fishing before," he admitted. "But I don't think that's really an option when I'm not allowed to go any further than the park at the moment."

"It's a good start: a goal to aim for," Yukata said. "Try to write it down. Are there other things you wish to do?"

Tenma had to groan inwardly. Now Yukata was driving on autopilot – these were the things written in all kinds of psychology books about how to deal with patients. Yukata wasn't actually very sentimental, she rarely smiled and wasn't what many people would call a 'warm, pleasant person'. She was very cold and direct. Which wasn't very common for a psychiatrist, but perhaps what was needed when dealing with the criminally insane. Perhaps it was just time and many dark experiences that had made her harsh; it certainly would explain a few premature wrinkles under her eyes. Who knew what kind of psychos she had had to deal with at the prison over the years?  
Tenma supposed what truly mattered was that she did her job and did it well. Perhaps she was kinder with other patients, and he was the one making her harsh. It was always so hard to tell with humans.

"I think perhaps I'll take up chess. I believe I would be rather good at it."

Yukata glanced at him. "You are not intending to use the workshop Astro made for you?"

Tenma shrugged. "I'm not sure yet," he said. "I do not, though, intend to build any robots, if that is what you're asking."

"Oh," Yukata blinked, looking mildly surprised. "I see." She made a short note in her notepad while Tenma casually observed that third party mini robot that thought it could hide itself behind her.

The instrument hadn't made any moves. It seemed like all it wanted to do for now was to observe, probably sending the signal to somewhere else, too. The robot was too small to be of any physical threat. If he wanted, Tenma could merely pluck it out of the air and crush it in his hand right here and now. Or, even better, he could reprogram it, track its signal back to the source… there were many possibilities.

When would people learn better than to try to use robots to spy on one of the best robot engineers who had ever lived?

Well, he would play innocent for now. It was what Astro would want: no trouble. And therefore he responded kindly to Yukata's next question.


	5. Ambassadors of Robot human friendship

"I AM ABERCROMBIE!" one rather bulky boy was gladly shouting.

"AND I AM ALEJO!" Another boy, this one small and lanky with big round glasses and a cap covering his hair.

"AND I AM KENNEDY!" The last boy, with darker skin and a healthy physique grinned.

The three lined up and reached their arms into the air. "And together we are the ambassadors for robot and human friendship!" they exclaimed. Then they all bowed simultaneously. "It's an honour to meet you, Dr Tenma!"

Stunned, Tenma stared at them as he sat on a bench in the park. There was absolute silence as they kept bowing like that and Tenma sat completely still, the wind blowing over the leaves.

Then, finally, Astro jumped in. "They are my friends!" he grinned. "Aren't they great?"

Tenma blinked. "Oh, yes," he said. "It is… a pleasure to meet you."

There was a rather awkward silence as the three children looked at Tenma, and Tenma looked back at them while Astro stood in the middle, poking his fingers together. "Erhm…"

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Alejo exclaimed as he opened his shoulder bag and dug into it to find a card. "Dr Tenma! On behalf of the ambassadors of robot and human friendship, we would like to offer you this!" He walked to Tenma and handed him the card.

Tenma blinked as he accepted it and looked down to see a rather crude and childish drawing of a boy and a robot holding hands. He then flipped it open and read the words.

"Lifetime achievement award for building our best friend Astro. Congratulations on your freedom."

The three names were signed with three different hand writings. Tenma glanced up to see the three boys looking extremely expectant at him, holding their breaths in excitement.

"That's… very nice," Tenma finally said.

Once again there was silence as they all looked at him, and, without any idea what to do, Tenma stared back at them, until Astro simply gave Tenma an elbow in the side.

"Just say thank you," he whispered.

"Ah, thank you."

And that made the three boys cheer as they stretched their arms up in the air.

"YOU'RE WELCOME!" they all exclaimed.

Tenma looked at them oddly as the three boys laughed and then started to poke at each other and tumble around.

Tenma reached up for his hat and pulled it down to let it shadow his eyes. He was sitting in the most isolated corner of the park he could find, wearing a long coat and a hat with a broad shadow to try and conceal his identity, if only a little.

Astro had run straight home to him after school and pulled him down to the park, saying he had a surprise for him. And now they were here.

Tenma exhaled deeply. Perhaps he should be better at this, he was, after all, a father, but he really wasn't very good with children. He didn't understand them.

The way these three were now tumbling around on the grass, laughing and deliberately bumping into each other wasn't something Tenma had ever done. When he was a child, he had preferred to be alone. And when Tobio was alive… He had never actually been to the park with Tobio; he had been too busy with work.

Tenma knew he couldn't pursue this line of thought; it was too sad. Already now he felt his heart squirming and tears nearly coming to his eyes.

"Father," Astro looked up at him. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, Astro," Tenma reassured him, forcing his voice to be steady. "So these are your friends?"

"Yeah, aren't they great?" Astro grinned. "They all helped teach me about human life! We've gone to all sorts of places together, like the fairytale theatre and the amusement park! Kennedy is the best soccer player ever! He taught me so much about sports!" he pointed at the dark skinned boy. "Alejo loves machines; he showed me loads of these really old contraptions we could try and make work together! And Abercrombie teaches me about other children in school! He knows what you need to do to be cool, and what not to do if you don't want to be a nerd!" He paused, then, "I don't mind being a nerd though. I think nerds are cool, too!"

"HEY, ASTRO, LOOK AT THIS!" Abercrombie suddenly shouted and Astro turned around to see he had crawled up into a tree. He had an eye-patch on one eye and held a branch forward as a sword. "I am the mighty pirate Red Beard looking for treasure!"

"And I am the first mate!" Kennedy exclaimed as he tied a branch to his knee and leaned on that instead of his foot so it looked like he only had one leg. "Short Ben Copper!"

"Eh?" Alejo asked. "Then what I am?"

"You can be the parrot," Abercrombie grinned.

"BUT I DON'T WANT TO BE THE PARROT!" Alejo shouted.

They all laughed, including Astro, and then he ran over to them. "Me too! Me too!" he grinned. "I want to be… erhm..."

"You should be the guy on look out!" Kennedy pointed out. "After all, you can fly super high up in the air and see really far! With you on look out no enemies would ever surprise this crew!"

"That's right!" Astro beamed. "That's perfect for me!"

Quietly, Tenma observed their play as he leaned back on his bench. From what he could see, this make believe made no sense whatsoever. Astro as a look-out man? Astro was much more powerful than that; such a job would be a waste of his talents.

Yet Astro seemed very happy and played along, never complaining that his superior robotic brain and body were being used for such a recreation that really didn't serve any purpose.

"Enjoying the fresh air?" a new voice sounded behind Tenma.

"Quite," Tenma replied. "Good afternoon, Detective Gumshoe."

The detective glanced at Tenma, who hadn't even looked in his direction, then exhaled deeply.

"No, I am not intending to take a run for it, you can sit down and relax," Tenma said, still not looking at Gumshoe.

Gumshoe huffed, annoyed. "I know that. I'm not an idiot," he said. "If you wished to vanish you would probably wait a few days at least! Which is why I won't slack off. I'll keep a close eye on you."

"You among others," Tenma commented lightly as he pointed over his shoulder. Gumshoe turned to where Tenma was pointing and saw a drone hiding in the treetops, filming them with a camera.

Gumshoe blinked.

"Oh, so you didn't know the police department didn't think your eyes were enough. How interesting," Tenma smirked. "That one there is from the institute though," he pointed more to the left where another droid was hiding in the treetops. "Also, Astro's scanners are turned on. If I move from this bench he'll notice immediately. You can relax, Detective. I wouldn't be able to run even if I wanted to."

"I don't really believe that," Gumshoe admitted. "If you want to disappear, you'll probably find a way."

"You're right, you're not an idiot," Tenma smirked in amusement. "But don't worry, I have no intention of running." He glanced at the children playing in the tree. "Is this how children usually play?"

Gumshoe frowned. "I would call it pretty normal, yes." he said. "That shouldn't be a surprise to you though; aren't you a parent?"

"Technically, yes. But I wouldn't call myself a good parent," Tenma replied. "What about you? Are you a parent?"

Gumshoe huffed. "I am not obligated to give such confidential information to you."

Tenma nodded. "Fair enough."

 

* * *

 

 

The following days were quite uneventful and soon Tenma and Astro both fell into a routine.  
They would wake up in the morning, and Tenma would drink his coffee and read the newspaper while Astro would tell him about what he planned to do that day.

Sometimes Ochanomizu and Uran would come in the morning to see how things were going. After breakfast, Astro would go to school and Tenma would put the breakfast items away just in time for Yukata to arrive.

After Yukata left, Tenma would have a few hours alone before Astro returned, sometimes taking Tenma to the park but also sometimes just staying in the apartment to work on his homework.  
A few times Astro flew out the window as he was called to an emergency, but all Tenma had to do to check up on him was merely to turn on the television. The news seemed to follow Astro's exploits like a hawk, sucking up everything they could.

Astro was their hero. That much was for sure.

Then finally, one day, Astro came running to the apartment with an incredibly excited smile on his face, telling Tenma they had gotten clearance to visit the zoo together like Uran had suggested.

"And it's the day after Reno gets home, too!" Astro beamed. "So he can come with us! I'm sure you'll like him a lot."

"Reno?" Tenma asked. "Ah, Ochanomizu's ward.".

"Yes!" Astro beamed. "He's studying to become a robot engineer! Just like you and the professor! I'm sure you'll find something to talk about."

"Yes, I would imagine so," Tenma glanced to the side.

"Ah," Astro then remembered. Tenma hadn't picked up as much as a wrench since the day he had been released from prison. The workshop Astro had spent so much time preparing was standing untouched. The only change that had been made was that the two picture frames now contained photos of Astro and Tobio, and the card Astro's friends had made was gently leaning up against Astro's photo.

It had made Astro happy that Tenma had not thrown the card away, but still...

Astro sighed and looked up. "You haven't been outside all day," he said. "And it's such a beautiful day, too." He looked out at the window at the blue sky. "Let's go to the park."

Tenma shrugged. "Sure," he replied. "Let me just get my coat and hat."

 

* * *

 

 

As usual, they didn't go very far and Tenma sat himself down at his usual bench at the furthest corner of the park, pulling down in his hat while Astro found some of his friends to play with.

This time only Kennedy was present and Astro and Kennedy decided to just play ball, kicking the ball towards each other for fun. Then suddenly Kennedy kicked it only for it to fly directly towards Tenma and hit him in the chest.

"Urgh," he hissed.

"DR TENMA!" Kennedy shouted as he came running towards him. "I… I am sorry!"

"It's okay," Tenma assured as he bent down and picked up the ball, which he then offered to Kennedy. "No harm done."

Kennedy looked at the ball for a moment then up at Tenma. "Why don't you play with us?" he asked.

"Father, that's a great idea!" Astro cheered. "It's not hard; we're just kicking and then catching the ball."

Tenma smirked. "I'm not much for that kind of activities." he admitted. "It's okay, Astro. I quite enjoy just observing."

"Oh, okay," Astro said as Kennedy took the ball. "If you say so."

"Well, if you ever change your mind," Kennedy said. "Or maybe there's something else you enjoy, sir. We could put up a baseball game up one of these days; my dad sure loves that. We could invite all our dads one day and have a game."

That made Tenma go a little pale. "That's… okay," he said. "Though if it means a lot to you, Astro, I'm sure Ochanomizu would love to play."

"Yes, he probably would," Astro agreed then looked away.

Kennedy blinked. Tenma and Astro were avoiding eye-contact.

"Erhm… Hey, Astro!" Kennedy then shouted. "Look at this new trick I learned!" He threw the ball up in the air and then caught it on his head, where he balanced it.

"Whoa!" Astro exclaimed then laughed as he clapped. "Kennedy that's amazing!"

"Catch!" Kennedy then shouted as he headbutted the ball and sent it towards Astro. Soon the two were playing again, trying to find better and more creative ways to deliver the ball to each other.

Tenma exhaled as he leaned back on the bench. There were more children in the park running around playing, as well as parents either sitting and observing like him or actively joining in their games.

Suddenly Tenma felt bad… He probably should have joined their game. It seemed like that was what Astro wanted, and he had promised himself to do whatever Astro wanted him to do. This, though, seemed quite beyond him.

Tenma sighed deeply as he leaned forward and rubbed his head. He glanced up and looked at the many children playing around. There was a girl coming towards him riding an air-bike. One of those anti-gravity bikes that floated just slightly in the air; the exact same kind of bike Tenma had given to Tobio on Tobio's birthday.

The sight made Tenma's stomach twist and he looked away, though as he did he suddenly spotted something and had to look back to be sure. But then realized. Sparks were coming from the lower half of the air-bike, located on the brakes.

The girl stepped on the brake but suddenly realized nothing was happening. She started to panic as she tried again and again, but instead of losing speed, the air-bike was only going faster as it zoomed directly towards a big oak tree.

Suddenly Tenma couldn't even think and only reacted as he stood up. "ABANDON THE BIKE!" he shouted. "GET OFF IT!"

The girl didn't seem to hear him, though, as she kept stepping on the brake. Tenma did the only thing he could: he ran towards her.

Wide eyed, Astro turned around. "Father?"

Tenma jumped as he grabbed the girl and threw them both aside, just as the air-bike blasted into the tree.

The girl screamed as she and Tenma landed on the ground, Tenma on top of her, covering her with his own body. He gasped for air, his mind not quite having caught up with the events just yet.

"Mi-mister!" the girl exclaimed. "Are you…"

"EMILY!" a man's voice suddenly shouted as several people came running.

Tenma sucked in a breath as he finally managed to push himself away from the girl and turned around to sit on the grass, looking up at where several people were rushing towards him, including a larger middle aged man in front.

"DADDY!" the girl screamed as she ran towards that man. "My bike! It wouldn't slow down! I tried to use the brake but it didn't work!"

"Oh, god!" the man cried and he bowed down and picked her up. "Thank god! Sir!" he addressed Tenma, who was still trying to catch his breath. "Thank you so much! How can I ever repay you?" He offered Tenma a hand.

"You don't have to thank me," Tenma assured, though he accepted the hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. "What matters is that your daughter is alright."

"You've got that right," the man said and everyone around them nodded and sighed in relief. "Seriously, how can I thank you? You don't know what it means that Emily wasn't hurt. I just..." he looked up at Tenma and halted.

Tenma blinked, realizing that the father was staring at him.

"You…" the man breathed. "You are..."

Suddenly, Tenma became incredibly self conscious. He soon realized he had dropped his hat in the wild chase. His face was exposed! He tried pulling up in the collar of his coat in an attempt to hide his face, but it was too late. The girl looked at him, too. Tenma stepped away as the father gasped.

"You are Dr Umataro Tenma, aren't you?" he asked.

Tenma could feel cold sweat starting to form on his forehead as he stepped backwards. Not this, not now! He couldn't deal with this, he...

And then more people started to become aware of him; all their eyes were on him. The girl was gaping and the father was just staring at him in wide-eyed silence. There was no way out of this, not that Tenma could see! He was caught!

Then suddenly the father broke out in a broad grin. "You're the man who created Astro! This is incredible!"

Stunned, Tenma blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Whoa, that's incredible!" the girl cheered. "Astro is incredible; he saves people all the time!"

Stunned Tenma looked at them. "Oh… Yes."

"We are such big fans of Astro!" the father cheered. "We always follow him in the news. He really fought for your release; I'm so glad to see he managed it. He must be making you really proud."

"Yes, he is," Tenma blinked. "He has more than exceeded his original programming."

The father blinked, confused.

"What I mean is, he's a really good kid," Tenma corrected himself. "He's very kind and courageous."

"Is he nearby?" the girl asked.

"He should be," Tenma looked over his shoulder and was pretty quickly rewarded with a smiling Astro standing among the crowds observing them. Astro came running to them and grabbed Tenma's hand as he beamed.

"Hello, I'm Astro!"

The girl screamed. "AHHH! ASTRO! DAD, DAD! LOOK! IT'S ASTRO!" She shouted so loudly that her father was clearly growing dizzy.

"This is my father, Dr Tenma!" Astro beamed so everyone in the crowd could hear.

Tenma looked around and saw their stunned faces. Everyone's eyes were on him. Tenma swallowed. He did not feel comfortable in this situation.

"My father has been through a lot, so I hope you'll all be nice to him, okay?"

The people blinked, stunned, and Tenma swallowed. "Erhm… Come on, Astro. I think I've had enough fresh air for today."

"Oh, okay."

Quickly, Tenma tried to make his way out of the crowd, but it became difficult as people just insisted on blocking the way and asking him all kinds of questions, which Tenma elected to block out. He pushed himself through, sometimes even in a rather rude way, not apologizing, not saying a word.

Astro couldn't do much except follow until they were finally inside the apartment building where they took the elevator to Tenma's apartment.

"Astro, I'm going to put the apartment in lock down," Tenma said. "Please don't let anyone in who you don't know personally. If a stranger turns up at the door, just ignore them. Don't even open the door."

"Why?" Astro asked in confusion.

"Because I hate journalists," Tenma stated as they stepped out of the elevator and towards the apartment.

"Oh," Astro realized. "Well, I can ask them nicely to go away."

"When has that ever helped when journalists are concerned?" Tenma asked as he unlocked the door. "No, the only tactic is to not give them as much room as a little finger." Both he and Astro stepped in and he then locked the door.

Astro blinked. "You could just talk to them you know," he said. "They just want to ask you some questions, that's all."

"Well, they can ask those questions to someone else," Tenma huffed as he walked to the window and pulled down the blinds.

Astro looked at it, then at Tenma. "Father, maybe you're overreacting just a little bit."

"You think so?" Tenma asked and then grabbed the TV remote to turn on the television.

Immediately, it spelled out in big red letters: "Breaking News! Dr Umataro Tenma has been released from prison!"

And blonde female reporter was sitting by a desk with papers in her hand as she spoke to the camera. " _Dr Umataro Tenma, mostly known for building everyone's hero, Astro Boy, has been released from prison. The man who was put there after several terrorist-"_

She was cut off as Tenma turned off the TV again and threw the remote away on the table.

"Oh," Astro realised. "That was… incredibly fast."

"They probably had that story ready for weeks," Tenma dropped down in the arm chair, "ever since you started the campaign for my release; all they lacked was the proof."

"I… I'm sorry," Astro swallowed.

"Don't be," Tenma replied as he leaned his head back in the arm chair. "As long as neither of us engage them, they will lose interest."

"So… you don't want me to talk to them?"

Tenma sighed deeply as he sat up. "I won't stop you," he then said. "But if you wish to do me a favor, don't."

Astro sighed deeply. "You really don't like journalists do you?"

"I am not particularly fond of having my entire life's story splashed on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper, no." Tenma said flatly.

"Your life story," Astro breathed, then looked up. "What is your life story anyway?"

"If you want to know, you can probably just read the newspaper tomorrow morning."

"But that's not the same!" Astro protested. "I want to hear it from you! You must have parents, too, right? Where are your parents? And what about Tobio's mother? What happened to her? What made you want to build robots in the first place? You invented the modern AI when you were only a teenager! But why?"

 _"ENOUGH!_ " Tenma suddenly shouted as he stood up, and Astro halted, wide eyed. He stared at Tenma, and Tenma stared back at him angrily.

Then he blinked as if he had come back to his senses and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Astro," he sighed. "I guess I'm just tired."

"Ah, yes. Of course," Astro swallowed. "I'm sorry, too."

Tenma exhaled deeply. "Maybe someday I'll tell you what I can," he said. "But… I just can't right now. In any case, my past probably won't be a secret for much longer."

Astro sighed deeply. "I wish I could hear it from you and not just some newspaper."

"It's not like there is much to tell about my past; it is quite unremarkable." Tenma commented. "I was raised an only child by moderately wealthy parents. My grades in school were consistently high. I had a very successful career and got married at a young age. Sadly, my wife passed away shortly after the birth of my son. Her heart was weak and she had heart failure while being on a business trip away from the country. So it was left to me to raise Tobio alone. I was the very successful and rich Minister of Robotics. And you know what happened after that."

Astro looked at Tenma. "The way you talk about it, it sounds so impersonal."

"It is the past," Tenma replied. "It happened and now it's gone. I have no wish to stir it up even further."

"I see," Astro looked down and swallowed. "Father if… if I have a question about what people are going to say and write in the future, is it okay if I ask you?" he asked. "I mean..."

"You can ask," Tenma said. "However, I cannot guarantee you an answer."

"Okay," Astro nodded. "Thank you, father!" He smiled, but it was clearly forced and Tenma couldn't return it.

By the end, all he could do was to turn away and walk out into the kitchen to make himself some tea. Tonight was going to be yet another sleepless night. He could tell already.


	6. Noisy news

The rest of Astro and Tenma's day wasn't exactly comfortable; not a lot was said and finally Tenma just went to bed early. But, as predicted, he wasn't sleeping. Like almost every single night previously, Astro observed through his scanners how Tenma lay tense in bed and barely even slept.

Then next morning, things started to go awry already from dawn. At six in the morning, there was a knock on the door. Astro stayed on his recharge table, waiting for Tenma to answer it, but he didn't. Instead, he merely went to the kitchen and made his coffee, like every other morning.

The knocking didn't stop, though; it just continued. After fifteen minutes of constant knocking, Astro finally got up and walked to the hallway only to be stopped as Tenma's voice called,

"Astro, don't open that door!"

Astro halted, for a moment glancing at the door but then finally went to the kitchen instead and watched Tenma sit down with his coffee. Today he was not reading the newspaper, instead he was reading an ordinary book.

"Father?" Astro asked.

Tenma exhaled deeply. "Remember what I told you yesterday?" he asked. "Don't let anyone in you don't know."

"You think those are journalists out there?" Astro asked, turning to the door where people kept knocking.

"A fair number of them, yes," Tenma nodded.

"Oh. Who else other than journalists would be out there?"

"It could be any number of people," Tenma supposed. "Greedy businessmen who hope they can make a deal, robot engineers asking for expertise, politicians who want to look good on television. The possibilities are endless," he said as he dully turned a page in his book.

"And you don't want to talk to any of them?" Astro asked.

"No."

"What if one of them is here to ask for your help?"

"Then that person would be better off asking for help elsewhere," Tenma said. "Even if I desired to help people out of good will, my hands are currently tied. I am under house arrest and any robots I build or have my hands on will be under severe observation for a long time. I don't think my help is as desirable as some may think at the current time."

Astro looked at Tenma, who didn't even glance up from his book and coffee. Astro sighed; it was hard to argue against that.

The knocking, though, kept sounding and it was getting louder.

"Erhm... Father," Astro tried as he looked at the door.

"Don't invite them in," Tenma repeated calmly, but then a shout sounded.

"DR TENMA OPEN UP ! IT'S ME!"

Astro gaped. "PROFESSOR OCHANOMIZU!"

And then another shout came from the other side of the door. "BIG BROTHEER, HEEEELP THEY ARE SQASHING ME!"

"URAN!" Astro shouted and then ran for the door only to be met by a waterfall of people and an overwhelming amount of flashing camera lights.

"Urgh!" Astro hissed as he had to cover his eyes with his arms.

A strong hand on his shoulder pulled him back into the apartment. Astro looked up to see the taller, slender figure of Tenma reaching out and pulling the plump old professor and little robot girl in as well before he put all his weight on the door, trying to close it again. "GET OUT!" he shouted at the masses.

"DR TENMA!" a voice shouted. "Could I ask you just a few questions!?"

"DR TENMA! Do you think it's fair you were let out of prison so early?"

"Dr Tenma! What is your view on the current politics of the robotics institute?"

"I HAVE NO COMMENTS!" Tenma shouted as he tried to push the door shut.

Then, finally, Astro came to help and pushed as well. Uran jumped beside him, and even the old professor. Finally, by working together, they managed to close the door and Tenma turned the lock. At last, he could relax, gasping deeply for air.

"Well, Astro, I hope you understand a little better now why I didn't want to open the door."

Astro gaped at Tenma with wide eyes. "That was scary!"

"Phew, I never thought it would be so difficult to get to an apartment," Ochanomizu commented as he wiped his forehead with a white handkerchief.

Uran, however, ran to the window and climbed up on a chair to push the curtain aside. "They're surrounding the entire building!"

Tenma quickly pulled the curtain back in place, blocking the view.

"Hey!" Uran shouted.

"Trust me, you don't want to be caught on camera," Tenma warned.

Ochanomizu sighed deeply. "So word of your release has finally gotten out."

Tenma shrugged. "I suppose it was only a matter of time."

"You're all over the news!" Uran exclaimed as she reached for the TV remote. "All the channels! Look!" She turned on the TV and was met by the sight of a male anchor standing on the street.

"And we have just gotten word that Professor Ochanomizu, the current head of the Ministry of Science, has entered the building -"

Once again the TV was turned off as Tenma had taken the remote.

Uran gaped. "That was from down the street!" she said, running to the window, but had to stop due to the blinds blocking the view. "Down there somewhere."

Tenma exhaled deeply. "You probably shouldn't have come," he said to Ochanomizu.

"I suppose," the old professor sighed. "But I was worried, and so was Uran."

"I am guessing you had your fair share of journalists knocking on your door as well."

"Yes, I did," Ochanomizu replied. "However, my home is highly secured. Unwelcome journalists will not be able to make it past the front gate. I had several calls, though, and invitations to a number of news channels."

Tenma raised an eyebrow. "And have you responded?"

"Not yet," Ochanomizu replied honestly. "Sadly, I can't make time for all of them."

"You intend to actually talk to those people?"

"Of course I do. Transparency is very important!" Ochanomizu argued. "I'm sure it'll put the public's mind at ease to know that you are not out to do them any harm, Dr Tenma. You must feel the same way, I'm sure."

Tenma shrugged. "People can think what they like; it's no business of mine."

"Oh," Ochanomizu blinked. "I see."

Uran pouted. "Why are so many people interested in an old meanie anyway?"

Tenma smirked. "Because of Astro," he said simply. "If I had just been a regular terrorist, there probably would have been a bit of attention, but certainly not to this degree. No, this is because everyone adores Astro; he's a celebrity, so to speak."

"And you're the person who created me," Astro finished. "That's good then isn't it? You must be like a hero to them!"

"If there is something the media loves, it's a good drama," Tenma shook his head in amusement. "People will not be satisfied by a simple, happy solution. Such is the nature of humans." He lifted the remote again and they were all faced with the footage of a huge explosion from two years ago.

"This man, who hates human life, now walks freely among us! How can the mayor allow that?! A man who would value a robot higher than human life should not be allowed to walk free! He is a dangerous, a sick man!"

Tenma turned off the television.

Astro swallowed. Uran as well was quiet, lost for words.

Uncomfortable, Ochanomizu rubbed his neck.

"That… is so unfair," Astro breathed.

"Is it?" Tenma asked indifferently.

"Father! You're not… I mean you don't…"

"I did attempt to kill people," Tenma pointed out. "I fully intended to do it. By all means I should have been in prison for the rest of my life. The only reason I am not is because of you, Astro."

Astro fell silent. "All of this… is because of me," he breathed. "That's not what I..." His words trailed off.

Wide eyed, Uran looked up at Tenma. "Do you really think robots are more important than humans?"

Tenma shrugged. "I'm not sure," he said. "These days, I feel quite indifferent to either being."

"That's mean!"

"It's the truth," Tenma replied. "However, if it sets your mind at ease, I don't have any particular wish to see a human get hurt anymore. Nor do I have any wish to see a robot getting hurt. I feel quite indifferent."

"Except…" Astro then spoke quietly, "the reason why people found out is because you saved that girl yesterday. You saved her. I know you think you're a bad person, but maybe you're not as bad as you think you are."

Tenma smirked grimly. "To tell the truth, I don't even know what went through my head when that happened," he said. "It was more of a reaction than a calculated effort."

"Still, you reacted," Astro smiled then was halted by the sound of more knocks on the door.

"How are we even going to get out of here again?" Uran asked, concerned.

Astro was quiet for a moment. "I can fly you out through the window," he suggested. "I think that's probably the easiest way."

Ochanomizu looked tired by the suggestion already, but nodded his consent to the idea, just as another big shout sounded from the door,

"STAY BACK! I AM AUTHORIZED TO USE TRANQUILIZERS AND TAZERS!"

Stunned, they all turned to the door which was being unlocked, and in came a very disheveled looking Yukata. Her usually neat hair was a mess, and her little flying robot bristling with sparks.

"Get back!" she hissed, pushing people back with her high-heel-clad foot. She finally managed to kick a man in his stomach, sending him flying back, allowing her to shut the door and lock it once again before she shouted at the door, "YOU SAVAGE BEASTS!"

Stunned, they all looked at her and Yukata turned to them, straightened up, and ran a hand through her hair as if trying to regain her composure. "Well I never," she huffed. "I'm sorry you had to see that." She straightened her sleeve.

"Heh, welcome to the fold," Tenma greeted. "Coffee?"

Yukata exhaled deeply as she rubbed her forehead. "Yes please," she said and Tenma led them all to the living room, where he found two clean coffee cups for Ochanomizu and Yukata.

"So what brings you here Ms Yukata?" Tenma asked. "You are a few hours early, are you not?"

"When the first thing I saw turning on the television this morning was your face, I knew something had to be up," Yukata replied. "And it is my job to ensure you don't suffer a relapse."

"Well, as you can see, I have not gone into a rampage. You should be quite safe," Tenma lifted his own mug.

"This is indeed a problem," Ochanomizu sighed deeply as he held his coffee. "Dr Tenma, maybe you would like to move to another location until this dies down?"

Tenma shrugged. "If you think that's the easiest thing to do."

"I'm sure we could arrange it so you can stay at the robotics institute for a while," Astro said. "You could stay with us."

That made Tenma pause. "That's very kind of you, Astro, but I rather not go there."

Yukata sighed. "The police should soon arrive and clear out the building," she said. "The journalists are all on the verge of breaking an entrance."

"I suppose we won't be able to go to the park today," Astro said a little sadly.

"No, I don't think that would be wise," Tenma agreed. "I'm sorry, Astro; it'll probably be a while before I should go to the park again."

"That's sad," Uran frowned. "Are you just going to be locked up in here then?"

Tenma shrugged.

"As your psychiatrist, I can't really recommend that," Yukata countered.

"What, then, would you suggest?"

At that, Yukata was clearly stumped as she didn't answer, but frowned in annoyance.

"Ms Yukata, will you be staying with father?" Astro asked. "I have to go to school soon, but I don't like father being alone here right now. I could stay if here if you can't."

"Astro, please don't skip school on my account," Tenma said.

Yukata sighed. "I can stay for a while, but not the entire day."

"Dr Tenma, if you need something, please don't hesitate to call me or Yuko," Ochanomizu added.

"I know. Thank you," Tenma nodded lightly at the professor. He huffed as suddenly there was a knock from the window. He crossed the room in three strides and opened the curtain to see a flying droid constantly flying back and forth into the window. "Whatever your owner is selling, I am not interested," he flat out told the droid and pulled the curtains shut again. That, though, didn't stop the droid from continuously flying into the window, and soon double knocks sounded, indicating that a second droid had joined it. Tenma grumbled in annoyance.

It would be so damn easy to make an electrical pulse that would shut down any droids coming to bother him. The problem was that if he installed such a pulse, it would probably interfere with all those stupid surveillance robots as well, and he would be in trouble with the police.

Everyone took a step away, as they could see Tenma was clearly very agitated

Somehow, Astro had a feeling that this was going to be a long day.

  

* * *

 

 

And, indeed, when he arrived at school, the building was buzzing, and everyone was talking about the same thing.  
No matter where Astro looked people were talking about Tenma. Of course, the moment a group of children realised Astro had arrived they ran to him.

"Astro!" a young second grader shouted happily. "I didn't know your father had been released! That's awesome!"

"Is it though?" another child asked. "My mom says Dr Tenma is a dangerous criminal and he should be locked up. Sorry, Astro."

"That's, okay," Astro blushed. "He was put into prison for a reason, I suppose. But my father is a lot better now! He's doing his best, he really is!"

"Didn't he try to kill a bunch of people?" a girl asked and Astro gaped.

"Erh."

Just then a hand grabbed Astro's shoulder and pulled him out from the growing mass of people.

"Astro!" a familiar voice shouted and Astro turned to see the face of his dark skinned best friend.

"Kennedy!" Astro exclaimed. "Sorry about leaving you in the park yesterday; things got a little hectic."

"They sure did," Kennedy nodded. "Your father sure acted cool though, getting that girl of the airike and all of that. That was pretty brave."

"Yeah, I think so too."

"Astro!" Abercrombie cried as he and Alejo came running. "Look at this, you made it to the front page of the newspaper." He held up the paper in question. "I know that's pretty normal for you, but this sure is different."

Astro blinked as he took the newspaper and looked at the title. _"'Does one genius invention excuse a lifetime of crime?'"_

He saw his own picture side by side with Tenma's. "This front page is lying," Astro pointed out. "My father has not lived a lifetime of crime; most of his life he's been law abiding. And he's made way more brilliant inventions than just one!"

"Some of these titles are pretty out there," Alejo agreed. "I mean, look at this one." He held up another newspaper.

_'Umataro Tenma: Psychotic Madman or Misunderstood Genius?'_

Astro glanced at the title then turned away uncomfortably.

"Astro?" Kennedy asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I… I'm fine," Astro swallowed.

"Would you rather we just don't talk about it?"

"I don't know," Astro admitted. "Father said this would happen; he wasn't surprised by it at all."

"How is your father?" Abercrombie asked.

"He's doing alright I suppose."

"You don't really sound too confident," Kennedy pointed out.

"No," Astro muttered. "But I don't know what I can do about it. Whatever I do, father seems to keep on being… I don't know."

"Well, your father is a bit strange," Abercrombie grinned.

Alejo gasped. "Abercrombie!"

"What? He is!" Abercrombie countered. "When we play he just sits there in the corner looking kind of creepily at us. He kind of looks like a vampire. And that is a bit strange, but that only makes sense. Astro's father is a genius, after all, and geniuses are always a bit strange. That's what my mom always says!" he grinned. "That's what makes them a genius! So if Dr Tenma wasn't strange he wouldn't be a genius, and if he wasn't a genius he couldn't have built Astro. And I sure am glad he did build Astro, so it's all good!"

Stunned, Astro looked at Abercrombie. "Yeah!" he smiled.

"My dad also says you can't trust the newspaper anyway," Alejo stated as he threw the newspaper in the trash can.

Kennedy nodded. "I'm sure if any of this was important Dr Tenma would tell Astro."

"Yeah, I suppose," Astro replied a little uneasily, making his friends look curiously at him, but there wasn't time for more talk as the bell rang, signaling that it was time for class.

For the rest of the day, Astro's friends put up a brave front, almost acting like his bodyguards to keep all the other kids away who were desperate to ask questions. Thankfully, the school had already gotten quite accustomed to noisy journalists who wanted to interview Astro, and as a result they were simply not allowed to enter school grounds. That didn't stop them from standing on the other side of the fence trying to catch a glimpse of Astro and call him over, though. But as long as Astro stayed inside it wasn't really a problem.

However, it was quite hard to get past all those newspapers lying around, and Astro had a hard time suppressing his own curiosity.

  

* * *

 

 

It felt like took forever but finally school was over and Astro was just itching to get back to the apartment, hoping that Tenma was okay. He was just about to take off as Uran came running.

"BIG BROTHER!" Uran shouted. "WAIT FOR MEEEEE!"

"Uran?" Astro asked as he turned to her.

"I'm coming with you!" Uran said. "You're going to look after your father right? I'm going to look after you then!"

"Are you sure Uran?" Astro smiled. "I would love for you to come, but I'm not sure that father will be such pleasant company."

"Well that's just an even better reason!" Uran retorted. "Catch me, Astro!" She jumped up on his back and Astro yanked up her legs.

"All right then," Astro told her. "Hold on."

And they were off, flying over the city. Uran laughed happily as she hung onto Astro and Astro made a loop in the air for Uran's pleasure.

It didn't take them long to reach the apartment building near the park. Things didn't look too good though. Now there was a big line of police officers and robots keeping the people away from the building.

"Wow," Uran breathed. "They really want their photos of Mr. Tenma."

"Not just that; only half of those people are press," Astro observed.

"For such a big meanie, he sure is popular."

"He's not that mean, Uran," Astro told her. "Come on, let's get inside." He flew towards the window. The blinds were down, though, so it was impossible to look inside and Astro had to knock on the window. "Father!" he shouted. "It's me, Astro!"

Shortly after, the curtains were pulled aside by Tenma and he opened the window, stepping aside to allow Astro and Uran in, before he closed the window and pulled the drapes again, leaving the room in semi darkness.

Uran blinked as she looked at Tenma, then finally crawled down from Astro. "Are you building a lair in here?" she asked.

Tenma turned to her and smiled in slight amusement. "It wasn't my intention, but I suppose I am," he admitted. "Uran, does Ochanomizu know you're here?"

"Yes, I told him I would go home with Astro after school this morning," Uran smiled sweetly. "It's okay. Besides, the Professor is going to be very busy today; he said he probably would be home pretty late."

"I see," Tenma nodded. "How was school then?" He moved to his armchair.

"It was good," Astro said. "We had a class in the holo-room today. We saw a recreation of a Viking boat. It was really cool."

"And I was taught about photosynthesis in trees!" Uran beamed, jumping up and down. "Did you know that plants breathe air too?"

"Yes," Tenma nodded. "All creatures that move need to burn energy somehow. And energy is the conversion of one form of matter to another. Your own breathing, for instance, Uran. Your mouth carries the function of an exhaust pipe. Inside of you a constant reaction is taking place, transforming oxygen into carbon dioxide. The conversion is part of your power source, so your inhale always brings new oxygen into your body, and when you breathe out carbon dioxide escapes. You and Astro are the only two robots who actually breathe like humans, I believe. Which is what allows you to keep on going for a little while even if you are out of power. All other robots have to either run on fuel or electricity solely."

"Whoa, really?" Uran asked. "I get energy from air just like humans?"

"Well, yes and no," Tenma reflected. "How good are you with molecular physics?"

"Erhm…" Uran blushed. "That's okay you don't have to explain it to me."

Amused, Astro shook his head. "So, you managed to keep all those journalists out?"

"It certainly helped when the police arrived," Tenma replied.

Astro tilted his head. "How long have you've been alone here?"

Tenma shrugged. "Just a few hours, I think."

"Really?" Uran asked. "What did you do for all that time then?"

"Nothing much; just reading."

"That sounds boring," Uran commented then looked towards the shut window. "We should go out and do something."

"Uran, we can't," Astro then reminded her. "Father is under house arrest; the only two places he can go is the park and the grocery store and both will be filled with people who won't leave him alone."

"Aw man!" Uran exclaimed. "Then what are we supposed to do?"

Astro was silent for a while. "I'm sure father would like to teach you about molecular physics if you ask him nicely."

"What?!" Uran asked. "Erh, that's okay. Maybe I'll just catch up on some homework!" She found her schoolbag and turned it upside down to empty the contents out on the coffee table.

Astro glanced up at Tenma, and was relieved to see him smirking in amusement.

"Don't you have homework as well, Astro?" he asked as he leaned forward and picked up his pipe from the table.

"Sure," Astro nodded. "Do you know anything about the Vikings?"

"Not particularly; history has never been my field," Tenma admitted as he filled the pipe with tobacco. "Ask me if you have any questions about physics, mathematics or chemistry." He lit the pipe and inhaled a bit of smoke before exhaling a small cloud.

"Sure thing."

"Mr. Tenma!" Uran exclaimed. "The professor says smoking is really bad!"

"He's probably right about that," Tenma replied. "But it also happens to be quite relaxing. I fear smoking is the only thing keeping me from destroying one of those things," he pointed at one of the many security bots in the corner of the room.

"…Then it's probably better you just smoke."

 

* * *

 

 

It actually ended up being quiet a pleasant afternoon between the three. Not a lot was said, but it was a rather pleasant silence. Both Astro and Uran worked on their homework while Tenma sat with a puzzle book. He seemed to be decently entertained by these brainteaser puzzles, even though he answered all of them at a much quicker rate than they were probably supposed to be solved. In any case, it was the most relaxed Astro had seen Tenma and that was good enough for him.

Eventually, though, Uran had finished her homework and grew bored. She started to zap through TV channels but got pretty annoyed that only news programs were on. "Seriously! Why does everyone care so much?" she huffed. "Don't they have a life?" She flicked through several more channels and then stopped. "Hey it's the professor!" she pointed out and both Astro and Tenma looked up. Just as she'd said, Ochanomizu was seated on a chair in front of a journalist in what looked like a TV set for the news.

"And it's live," Astro realized, glancing to the left corner of the screen.

Tenma heaved a mental sigh and went back to his current puzzle problem while Uran turned up for the sound.

" _You worked with Dr Tenma for quite a while didn't you, Professor?_ " the interviewer sitting in front of Ochanomizu, a rather handsome young man with chestnut brown hair, asked.

" _Yes, indeed,_ " Ochanomizu nodded. The kind professor looked pretty relaxed and like he intended to do his best to ease the situation. " _I first met Dr Tenma while I was working at the Ministry of Science as head engineer. Dr Tenma was head-hunted by the institute and started to work with us the moment he had gotten his university degree. He was indeed exceptionally gifted; it only took him two years working for the institute before he made the breakthrough that led to the robot AI as we know it today, making modern robotics possible."_

_"When you think back to that time, what do you recall about Dr Tenma?"_

_"Well,"_ Ochanomizu rubbed his chin in thought. _"I remember what really stood out to me was, well, he was so young. I myself wasn't exactly a spring chicken already back then, and I had been working with robotics for most of my life, yet he exceeded my skills in almost every way. He was a very quiet man, though, and very well spoken, always so very polite,_ " he reminisced. " _He never boasted about his accomplishments or demanded praise. All he asked for was the ability to work. And he was indeed a very hard worker. Now that I think about it, I do remember times where Dr Tenma would be working as I went home for the day and then he would still be there when I came back the next morning."_

 _"Is that so?_ " the interviewer asked. _"Wouldn't you call such a behavior an obsession?"_

That made Ochanomizu blink. " _Well_ ," he hesitated, _"he certainly was passionate, that much is for sure. The robotics industry truly flourished while he was there, always ready with a number of new design ideas. It didn't really surprise anyone at all when he was appointed the new Minister of Science. Most of the advancements the institute made during that time were indeed due to his hard work and brilliant mind."_

" _The time he became Minister, that was also around the time he was married was it not?_ " the interviewer asked. " _And his wife was also an engineer._ "

" _Ah yes, Hoshie,_ " Ochanomizu nodded as he sighed deeply. _"It's no surprise Dr Tenma would marry another robots engineer; he barely ever left the institute, after all._ "

" _What do you remember about her?_ "

" _She was very kind,_ " Ochanomizu smiled a little sadly. _"Always nervous around Dr Tenma, it was clear for everyone to see that she had a crush on him. We were all quite surprised when they actually went out together; none of us believed Dr Tenma had it in him. Only a year after they married, and I believe it was six months after that that Tobio was born."_

_"Would you call their marriage a happy one?"_

Ochanomizu was silent for a while, then finally nodded. " _I believe so_ ," he said. _"They were both quiet people, but I also think that it was a good fit. I can't speak for their home life, but they never seemed unhappy to me. Umataro gave Hoshie anything she ever asked, and Hoshie seemed to look forward to getting a real family."_

_"And then Hoshie Tenma died a mere one and a half years after Tobio Tenma's birth. How did Dr Tenma react?"_

_"It is hard to say,"_ Ochanomizu admitted. " _Dr Tenma never spoke much about his own emotions or private life; all I know is that he dedicated himself to his work after that._ "

 _"What about his son?"_ the interviewer asked.

Ochanomizu sighed deeply. " _Tobio. He was a very kind boy, always brightening up the institute when he was on a visit. I have no doubt in my heart that Dr Tenma loved his son with all of his heart. I shouldn't have to say that though; Astro is proof of that. All the love Tenma had for his son went into the creation of Astro. And to this day, Astro is still the ultimate robot. No other robot even comes close."_

 _"Yet Astro was abandoned and it was up to you to resurrect him,_ " the interviewer pointed out.

Ocanomizu sighed deeply. " _I won't pretend to know Dr Tenma's reasons or thoughts back then_ ," he said. " _However, I know the pain and anguish he must have gone through would have been far greater than either of us can imagine. We already know that humans do irrational things when their hearts are compromised. Tobio's death was tragic and senseless. Dr Tenma is a brilliant man. Perhaps he was just desperate to make sense of it."_

 _"What about now?"_ the interviewer asked. " _As Dr Tenma is free again, do you think society is safe with him walking free?"_

 _"Oh yes!_ " Ochanomizu stated, looking up. _"I don't believe Dr Tenma is out to do any harm. Knowing him from so long ago, all he really wants is just a bit of privacy."_

_"So do you think we can still expect exciting new projects from Dr Tenma?"_

_"Who knows?"_ Ochanomizu replied. " _That is his own decision; if he wishes to continue his brilliant research or fade into obscurity is entirely up to him. In either case, I will always be thankful to him."_

 _"Thank you for your time, Professor Ochanomizu,"_ the interview then ended. _"This has, indeed, been a very interesting talk."_

"Wow," Uran breathed.

Annoyed, Tenma looked away, grumbling a bit to himself. Something about it not being Ochanomizu's place to spill out his life story. Although, since Tenma's life story was available in any newspaper, it probably didn't matter what Ochanomizu said on television, as far as Astro could gather.

"What did your wife look like?" Uran then suddenly asked Tenma directly.

"Hmm?" Tenma blinked.

"Hmm, I don't think I've ever seen her," Uran muttered. "You had so many pictures with Tobio and Astro in your old house. Why didn't you have any of that Hoshie person?"

Tenma glanced away. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "Logically speaking I ought to, shouldn't I?"

Astro was confused as well; that was indeed a pretty good question. "Didn't you like her?" he asked.

Tenma shrugged. "I didn't dislike her," he said leaning his head in his hand.

"You must have loved her!" Uran exclaimed. "You married her, after all. Why would you marry her if you didn't love her?"

"Because she asked me," Tenma replied distantly. "She thought we should get married; I saw no reason not to. People get married all the time don't they? And the prospect seemed to make her quite happy."

Confused, Astro looked at Tenma. "She's the one who wanted to get married?" he asked. "Didn't you want to get married?"

"It made very little difference to me, honestly."

"That's not very romantic," Uran pouted. "There must be something! I'm sure she was really beautiful!" she stated. "No wait, why would anyone beautiful marry a big meanie?"

"I suppose she was rather beautiful." Tenma finally said. "And quite clever. Very calm and orderly. I didn't mind her company."

Uran was just about to open her mouth again, but was stopped as Astro laid a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. It was clear this conversation was over now. Astro was pretty lucky that Tenma had opened up this much without losing it. He really didn't want to compromise what little common ground they had found.

"Uran, do you want me to fly you to the institute?" Astro asked.

"Yes, please!" Uran smiled.

"Father, is there something I can pick up for you on the way back?"

"If you wouldn't mind picking up the items on the shopping list I wrote," Tenma asked. "I put it on the fridge. I'm afraid it seems like I won't be able to go to the store for a while."

"That's okay," Astro nodded.

Soon after that, Astro flew out the window with Uran on his back. Beneath them there were still both the press and other people kept back by the police.

All things considered, though, the day hadn't been too bad. The last part had been outright nice.

"Astro," Uran then spoke. "You know, maybe he's not that big of a meanie after all."

"You think so?"

"Maybe," Uran said. "But don't tell him I said that!"

Astro laughed. Yup, this hadn't been a bad day at all.


	7. A trip to the zoo

Thankfully, the next day things had already calmed down quite a bit. Tenma and Astro were allowed to have their morning to themselves; that is, until Ochanomizu and Uran came to check up on them.

Tenma didn't waste any time showing his displeasure with everything Ochanomizu had been talking about on the television the other day, and Ochanomizu had laughed a bit nervously, commenting that people's curiosity was a double-edged sword sometimes. And that had been the end of that argument.

Children at school were still curious, but the edge was definitely gone, and the television stations were reporting on other news, even if they were advertising documentaries about Tenma's life.

Tenma's mailbox had been stuffed to the brim with letters, so much so that they couldn't fit into the mailbox and the poor mailman had elected to simply leave the rest in a big bag under the doorbell with Tenma's name on it.

Tenma, though, had given both the bag and mailbox one glance, and then collected all the letters just to throw them out into the trash. Astro had decided to just not comment on it, as he had already learned that Tenma would only give very short and dismissive answers.

The biggest issue, though, was Tenma's inability to go outside. Astro didn't even need to scan him to realize that his blood pressure was steadily rising, as was his level of aggravation. He would pace back and forth in the apartment, nearly looking like a trapped animal, or he would sit down with books or those puzzles for a little while before he would cast the objects away in frustration.

Astro was so relieved when the day finally arrived: the day where they were all going to the zoo together like Uran had suggested. It was a relief just because it would get Tenma out of the apartment!

Of course getting Tenma out of the apartment without being discovered was its own issue and a plan had to be devised.

So that was how they ended up there: an early morning with Gumshoe in the apartment.

"Right!" Gumshoe started. "You both got the plan?"

"Yes," Tenma exhaled deeply. "It is not that complicated."

"I'll go out through the front door!" Astro said. "That should drive any attention towards me, then father will go down into the basement and out of the back door that'll lead directly to the police car, which you will be driving," he listed to Gumshoe.

"Good. I'll go down and start the car. I will be expecting you in fifteen minutes, Dr Tenma," Gumshoe huffed as he walked out.

Tenma exhaled deeply. "What a hassle."

"Yeah," Astro agreed. "But it's going to be great when we get there! So we'd better hurry; Ochanomizu and Uran will be waiting for us!" he said. "Uh! And Reno too!"

Tenma was silent, but reached for his hat and put it on his head.

"Do you like animals, father?" Astro then asked innocently.

"You know… I actually do," Tenma admitted. "Animals are quite pleasant company. They aren't too pretentious and only ask for food."

"Really?" Astro grinned. "Do you have a favorite animal? I know Uran really loves horses! She even has a couple of posters just with horses. She asked Ochanomizu if she could have a horse for her birthday but he said no," he chuckled. "What about you father?"

"Well, horses are fine I suppose. They are strong and quite beautiful creatures," Tenma nodded. "However, I did always prefer dogs. They are both intelligent and loyal, some of them quite beautiful too. Wolves are fantastic animals, highly intelligent and incredibly strong and elegant."

"Then we must remember to go look at the wolves," Astro smiled. "Have you ever had a dog?"

"No," Tenma responded distantly. "That is, unless you count my robotic dogs. But I believe they were all confiscated when I got arrested. I wonder whatever happened to them," he reflected. "Were they shut down?"

Astro blinked, surprised. "I don't know," he admitted. "I could try and find out."

"I would appreciate that," Tenma said. "Of course, they weren't as intelligent as you, but they kept me company. I hope they are okay."

"I'm sure they're fine!" Astro smiled. "Well, I'd better be going! I'll see you at the zoo!" Without further comment, he ran out the door and headed down the stairs.

Tenma waited a bit, but then finally sighed as he buttoned up his dark coat as well as he could, pulled the neckline up so it covered his face, and tugged down his broad-brimmed hat. Then he headed out as well. He rushed down the stairs and didn't stay to observe the spectacle at the front door where Astro was willingly answering questions for the journalists. Instead, he headed down to the basement where the washing machines and dryers were located.

Tenma didn't pay much attention to either as he headed for the door in the far end of the basement and exited the building, getting a breath of fresh air for the first time in what felt like years. Unfortunately, he couldn't take the time to enjoy it just yet, as a white car with tinted windows was waiting just in front of him. Tenma didn't hesitate to step forward and open the back door, taking a seat and pulling down the seatbelt.

"I trust there were no problems," Gumshoe commented from the driver's seat.

"None whatsoever," Tenma replied, removing his hat.

"Good, then we'll be on our way," Gumshoe stated as he started the car. "Honestly, all this for a zoo visit. As if we aren't spending enough of the tax payers' money on you."

"Well, if that is the issue I wouldn't mind getting rid of all those bugs and security cameras in my apartment," Tenma replied evenly.

"Very funny," Gumshoe retorted. "No, those will stay until there is absolute certainty that you are not a threat."

Tenma smirked. "And I suppose there will be undercover agents at the zoo too?"

"Yes," Gumshoe nodded. "Do you realize all the cops protecting you could be working on other cases?"

"My apologies."

Gumshoe sighed deeply. "Why does it feel like you are mocking me?"

Tenma smirked, amused. "That I cannot say," he replied and Gumshoe grumbled, finally figuring it was probably better to just not talk.

 

* * *

 

Back at the apartment building, Tenma's departure sadly hadn't gone entirely unnoticed. A man in a trench coat pulled out his cell phone. "Sir! Dr Tenma has left the apartment building," he said quietly. "I knew that car looked suspicious so I put a tracer on it. If we're lucky, you should finally be able to talk to Dr Tenma."

The response from the other end came quickly, "Finally! Let me know when he arrives at his destination. I'll catch up to him as soon as possible!"

 

* * *

 

 

It took a little under an hour before Gumshoe's air car finally landed at their destination: the great Metro City Zoo. They parked in the parking lot and headed to the elevator, and Tenma could finally breath in fresh air once again. He closed his eyes as he lifted his head skywards to feel the sun.

The moment was short lived, as a shout sounded, "Father! Over here!"

Tenma turned his head and saw Astro waving happily at him. Astro wasn't alone, though; he was holding Uran's hand and behind him was Professor Ochanomizu, as well as a young teenage boy with light brown hair.

"I'll leave you to it," Gumshoe said to Tenma. "Don't be fooled; I won't be far behind you."

Tenma nodded. "Understood," he said and then smiled lightly as he walked over to the little group that welcomed him.

"WE MADE IT! WE MADE IT!" Uran laughed happily as she jumped up and down.

Ochanomizu smiled. "Let's try to make this a good day."

Tenma nodded. "Yes. Let's." His gaze turned to the teenage boy, who swallowed and then blushed deeply.

"Ah!" Ochanomizu jumped in. "Dr Tenma! I would like you to meet my ward. This is Reno!" he presented. "Reno has been away for a while to study at an institute abroad. However, now that he is back, I'm sure you'll see him around more."

Reno blushed deeply as he looked down. "Dr Tenma," he swallowed nervously. "It… It's an honor to meet you." He offered a hand in greeting. "I read so much about you, about the advancements you made in robotics technology. I erh..." he glanced away. "What I mean is… Erhm."

Gently, Tenma took Reno's hand and shook it. "The pleasure is all mine, Reno," he said. "Astro has talked a lot about you."

"Heh," Reno smiled. "Astro sure is amazing."

"You're amazing too, Reno," Astro grinned.

Reno glanced away, chuckling nervously.

"Reno, you're acting weird," Uran said.

"Eh?" Reno blinked. "No I'm not!".

Ochanomizu chuckled, amused. "Let's go get tickets, shall we?" he asked, hushing the children and teenager with him.

For a moment, Tenma stood there, glancing at them as they walked towards the entrance, then Astro turned towards him.

"Father? What are you waiting for?" he asked.

"I don't have the faintest idea," Tenma smiled lightly as he followed the group.

 

* * *

 

 

It was a spectacular day for a zoo trip; the weather was brilliant and the sky was clear. It wasn't too hot or too cold, which meant the animals were all out and about. Chimpanzees swung around on their branches and the parrots were screeching from the cages.

Just as Uran had informed them, there was a calf among the giraffes and she beamed happily. "It's so cute!" she cheered just as a giraffe walked towards the fence and poked its head over towards her. "WHOA!" Uran exclaimed. "Hello, Ms Giraffe! Your baby is so cute!" She reached up for the giraffe, only to pout when she fell short. "I can't reach."

A pair of hands suddenly wrapped around her waist and lifted her up. "Whoa!" Uran exclaimed. "Mr. Tenma! THANK YOU!" she beamed and finally petted the giraffe on its head.

"You're welcome," Tenma smiled as he gently put her down again.

Astro smiled as he watched them.

"You sure seem happy, Astro," Reno pointed out.

"I've never seen father so happy before," Astro beamed. "I'm just really glad we came here."

"Heh, I wouldn't exactly call him a fountain of joy. But yeah, he seems pretty happy," Reno agreed. "So you think it'll soon be time for you to move back to the institute?"

"I'm not sure," Astro admitted. "Maybe. Father is definitely getting better. I don't know, I think I'll give it a bit more time."

"Take all the time you need, Astro," Ochanomizu said. "Both I and the institute will be there when you need us. I'm also pretty relieved to see Dr Tenma doing so well," he admitted. "You've done well, Astro; because of you, Dr Tenma has a second chance at life."

Astro smiled. "That's good."

Just then, a man was strode directly towards Tenma. He was middle-aged gentleman wearing a fine business suit. His blond hair was slicked back in a smartly and his blue eyes were aimed directly at Tenma. "Ah! Dr Tenma!"

Surprised, both Tenma and Uran turned towards him.

The stranger, though, smiled as if they were old friends. "Finally we meet! Such a pleasure to meet you."

Tenma frowned as he glanced at the man. "Do I know you?" he asked.

"Well, not exactly. But I hope we can use this opportunity to rectify that," the man smiled.

For a moment, Tenma stared at him, then snorted. "No thank you. Goodbye," and he turned around walking away without another word.

"Hey, wait a minute!" the man shouted as he ran after Tenma. "I have an offer for you!"

"I'm not interested. Go away," Tenma replied not looking back.

"STOOOP!" the man shouted, speeding up into a run and, overtaking Tenma, blocking his path. "Please! Just hear what I have to say!" he asked then reached into his pocket and found a photo, showing it to Tenma. The photo was of a young boy, between nine and eleven years old with short blond hair and a smiling face. "This is my son, William!"

Tenma glanced at the picture then up at the man. "And this would interest me why?"

"Well… William... he is..." the man swallowed. "It… It was terrible. He was crushed under a load of bricks he… he didn't stand a chance."

That made Tenma's eyes widen and they all froze.

"But you!" the man looked up at Tenma. "You are capable of giving my son that chance he never had! You can bring him back! Please, Dr Tenma! Bring my son back! Money is no issue; I own my own company!" he begged. "Anything you want, it's yours."

Coldly, Tenma looked down at the man. Suddenly it felt like the air was freezing. Astro had forgotten just how intimidating Tenma could be. Now, though, it was clear for everyone to see as he spoke one single word.

"No."

Wide eyed, the man looked up at Tenma. "HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?!" he grabbed Tenma's coat and shook him. "I thought you would understand! You got your son back! Why won't you give me mine back too?"

Tenma didn't move an inch. "I did not get my son back," he stated. "The dead are dead; they cannot be brought back."

The man gaped up at Tenma, tears running down his face.

"I could build you a robot," Tenma informed in a nonchalant tone. "A robot that would look just like your son, sound just like your son, even act just like your son. But he won't be the son that you remember." His voice was as cold as ice. "And you will look at that robot every single day, trying to convince yourself that he is the son you lost, yet deep inside you'll know it's a lie. And that robot will only be a constant reminder of what you lost, the failure you were when you didn't protect your son. Every time you look at that robot, every waking moment, there will be no rest, no ease for the pain. Can you go through that constant torment?" he asked in a voice that sent shivers down everyone's spines. "And that robot will look at you, and ask for your love. But can you love it? Will you be able to accept it?"

The man stared at Tenma. The hand still holding Tenma's coat was shaking, tears were streaming down his face.

"It is a simple fact; I cannot give you what you want," Tenma stated. "Your son is dead. If you want my advice, care for those still alive." He grabbed the man's hands and forcefully tore them away, before he turned around and pulled down in his broad brimmed hat, returning to the gaping Ochanomizu, Uran, Astro and Reno, who had heard everything.

"Dr Tenma..." Ochanomizu breathed. "Are you…?"

"I'm fine," Tenma assured, though his suddenly intimidating presence and cold tone spoke otherwise.

Astro swallowed. "Father," he breathed. Tenma glanced at him. "Is… Is that how you feel?" he asked. "Is my existence torment to you?"

There was an incredibly awkward silence between all of them; no one could look at each other. Astro was looking at the ground, Tenma was looking away. Reno had suddenly gotten very interested in a lizard in a cage to his left.

Finally, Tenma sighed deeply. "Excuse me, I think I would like to sit down for a while." He then turned and walked away towards the bench area.

"Oh dear," Ochanomizu bit his lip. "Uran, perhaps you want to come with me to see the dolphins?"

"But… Okay," Uran finally sighed.

Astro, uncomfortable, looked away as he rubbed his arm.

"Astro, why don't you go with the professor and Uran?" Reno asked. "I can look after you father."

"Are you sure?" Astro asked, glancing up.

"He's not allowed to be alone, right?" Reno asked. "It's fine; I really wanted to talk to him anyway."

"Thank you," Astro said at last. "I'm sorry about all of this."

"Why?" Reno asked. "It wasn't your fault that man attacked your father like that. And it's not Dr Tenma's fault, either. In a way, he probably did the right thing," he commented, a little abashed. "Well, have fun with the dolphins!" he grinned and then ran after Tenma.

 

* * *

 

 

It didn't take long to find Tenma; he was seated at a bench not too far away as promised, and somehow it seemed like a big black cloud was emitting from his very being. People seemed to feel it too, as they were walking in a big circle around him, even without thinking about it, leaving Tenma quite alone in all his menacing black-clad glory. Somehow Reno couldn't help but compare Tenma to one of the bats they had seen earlier.

Finally, Reno sighed deeply and walked over to Tenma, sitting down beside him. "The others have gone to see the dolphins." he said.

Tenma nodded. "That's good."

Reno was quiet as he glanced away. The silence was… rather awkward, to say the least.

Tenma smirked, amused. "You must find me a rather harsh person."

"I don't know," Reno admitted. "I don't know what you could have said to that man that would have made him understand."

"You were there at the robot war, weren't you?" he asked. "Fighting by Astro's side."

Reno swallowed as he looked up. "Yes."

"Ah, I thought I had seen you somewhere before," Tenma nodded thoughtfully. "I understand that for Astro's sake we must try to get along. However, I do understand if you resent me."

"Resent you?" Reno asked. "Oh no, I don't…" he halted then glanced away. "To be honest, sir, I don't think I could ever resent you. I didn't like what you were doing back then, but I could never hate you. In fact, I'll always be thankful to you."

Tenma lifted an eyebrow as he glanced at Reno. "Oh?" he asked and Reno glanced up, their eyes meeting. "Because I created Astro?"

"Well, that too," Reno nodded. "Astro is my friend; he saved my life and helped me make my dream come true. But that's not what I was thinking about."

That made Tenma blink. This was suddenly… interesting. Wondering, he looked at Reno, waiting for an answer. "Well then," he said. "If not for Astro then what?"

Reno smiled, a little embarrassed as he looked to the side. "If it wasn't for you, artificial intelligence would not exist the way it does today," he said. "They call you the father of all intelligent robots, and I think they have a point. The work you did, even before I was born, it changed everything. All robots made afterwards were possible because of your work. My family," he closed his eyes.

Tenma frowned lightly. "Your family?"

"I was abandoned… when I was a baby," Reno admitted. "A group of circus robot found me. They saved my life and then raised me. The Ringmaster, Cupcake, Spring Hop. All of them," he smiled. "They all exist because of you, sir! If it weren't for you, no one would have found me there; I would have died as a baby. But I got a family who really loved me and raised me! It was a good childhood. My family are good people! I mean robots," he corrected himself in a blush. "I think the Ringmaster maybe was even created by you personally; he has your signature on his artificial brain. I saw it when I made some minor repairs on him."

Stunned, Tenma looked at him with slightly wide eyes, and Reno stared back.

"Sir," Reno tried, then he swallowed.

Tenma's eyes softened. "Ah yes, circus robots. I do think I built something like that long ago," he said. "It was a way to try and test durability, balance, and agility in a robot body. So they are still around?"

"Yes, sir! And they are very happy still performing," Reno grinned. "I'm going to become a really good robot engineer so I can take good care of all of them!"

Tenma smiled warmly. "I see. That's a good dream," he said. "Taking care of your family."

"Yup!" Reno beamed. "That's why I got into robot engineering in the first place; so I could help them. They used to be all the family I had. Now I've also got Astro, Uran, and the Professor. Huh, though I guess that means I've still got only one human family member," he then reflected. "Doesn't matter. I love my family just as they are!" he grinned. "Bolts, screws and everything!"

Astounded, Tenma stared at Reno, trying to comprehend the things he had been told. He then turned towards the crowd. "Raised by robots you say?"

"Yup, and honestly I wouldn't want to change anything about it. I'm sure you understand. After all, your son is a robot, too," Reno pointed out.

"Ah, yes," Tenma nodded. He was silent for a while before he said, "Thank you, Reno. Your story has given me a lot to think about," he admitted, then glanced at him. "How curious."

"What?" Reno asked.

"If Tobio had been alive, I think he would have been your age."

"Really?" Reno asked. "Ah yeah, Tobio was very young when he died, wasn't he?"

"Indeed."

"I'm sorry, sir." Reno said.

Tenma was silent for a moment. "There is no need," he then said. "It is now the past."

Reno glanced up at Tenma. Tenma, though, stared into space with stern and steady eyes. It looked like he was in deep thought. It made Reno wonder about what went through his mind.

This man… This man was a brilliant genius who had created Astro Boy. Everything Reno did now was only possible because of the breakthroughs done by this man. He was a genius; there was no doubt about it. But then the death of his only son had driven him over the edge and into the abyss of insanity. All that hurt, all that anger, thrust upon a brilliant mind which had to make sense of this madness, no matter what. Of course a mind like that would try to make sense of that terrible tragedy which in all aspects had been entirely senseless.

What kind of thoughts did Tenma have? Did Reno even want to know? They probably weren't pleasant at all. He felt a chill go down his spine as he thought about it.

"Reno, may I ask you something?" Tenma asked

"Ah! Yes, sir!" Reno startled, broken from his musing.

"The robots who found you and raised you, they were older models were they not?"

"Yes, I suppose so," Reno said. "They had already been discarded when I was a baby so yeah, they must be from the first generation of artificial intelligence robots."

"Hmm," Tenma nodded. "Would you say your family have hearts?"

Reno blinked. "Sorry?"

"Hearts, emotions, feelings," Tenma explained.

"Oh, yes!" Reno smiled. "They all loved me very much.".

"And that was it?"

"Oh, no," Reno shook his head. "They got scared when food was running out, and they got sad when I was sick. They laughed when something funny happened and got bored when nothing was going on. They have all the emotions a human has. They definitely all have hearts!"

"I see. So already back then," Tenma reflected, "robot hearts were created. But how?" he asked, frowning. "Why?"

"I think they just evolved that way," Reno said. "That what happens to a lot of robots; they start to see the world around them. They start to ask questions and explore, and then they evolve and get their hearts."

"But how does that function?" Tenma pressed, annoyed. "It still doesn't make sense."

"Maybe it doesn't have to make sense," Reno pointed out and Tenma exhaled deeply.

"If that is what you say."

Somehow, Reno didn't think Tenma had gotten the answer he was looking for, but obviously this conversation wouldn't go any further. "Do you know how I first met Astro?" he then asked with a smile.

"I have no idea how you met."

"Well I'll tell you!" Reno grinned and then began his story. Tenma watched at him with attentive eyes, listening to everything, and even asked a few questions.

By the time Reno was done, Ochanomizu approached them with Uran and Astro in tow. Things seemed to have calmed down and were mostly back to normal. They even went to see the wolves, and Ochanomizu bought Uran a giraffe plush.

As afternoon came and the park closed down, Astro was ready to call it a rather successful day.

"It was such an honor to really meet you, sir!" Reno beamed as he shook Tenma's hand again. "Maybe I'll come visit one of these days!"

"You would be welcome any time," Tenma replied with a gentle smile and Reno lit up.

 

* * *

 

 

Once again Gumshoe was driving a car with tinted windows so Tenma could go home. Thankfully it went without incident.

The most surprising thing for Tenma as he entered his apartment was the fact that Astro wasn't there yet. Perhaps he was with Uran, Ochanomizu, and Reno at the institute. He didn't mind, though; it was nice to have a bit of privacy… As much privacy as you can have when there are cameras and bugs everywhere, anyway.

Calmly, Tenma decided to make himself a cup of tea, and then elected to, for the first time in a week, step out onto the small balcony to breathe in the colder night air.

The sky was now dark, but was lit up by the lights of the city beneath him, a thousand lights blinking and moving. Metro City was indeed a unique sight at night.

Then, as Tenma took a sip of his tea, a robot came flying towards him. Tenma greeted him with a gentle smile. "Hello, Astro."

Astro looked down sadly, avoiding his gaze. "I was at the police station," he said, "to ask about your robot dogs. There were all disassembled and their parts re-used for other projects. I'm sorry."

Tenma sighed deeply. "I'd figured as much."

Astro swallowed, still looking away.

"Astro," Tenma said in a sterner voice.

"I'm sorry, I just… What you said to that man at the zoo..."

Tenma glanced away, sighing.

"Am I… Does it torment you that I'm here?" Astro asked.

"No," Tenma replied evenly. "It's a comfort. It was only torment for as long as I tried to insist you were Tobio."

"And I'm not Tobio," Astro concluded.

"No, you're not," Tenma shook his head. "However, you're still my son."

Astro looked up.

"I don't ever want to see you get hurt," Tenma said quietly.

Astro stared at Tenma as he swallowed, then gently landed beside him on the balcony. Tenma glanced away with sad eyes.

Astro wrapped his arms around Tenma's waist and hugged him tightly. "Father," he breathed. "Thank you for today."

Tenma smiled lightly and he gently put his arms around Astro. "No. Thank you, Astro."


	8. Irrational behaviour

The days after that were quite uneventful; already three months had passed and thus security, as promised, was lessened. Tenma still had to wear the silver bracelet at all times and there were still a few cameras and bugs, but not nearly to the same ridiculous degree, and Yukata now only came once a week. Of course, Astro still had her phone number and she was ready to jump in at any time, but Tenma had been so well behaved it didn't really seem like it would be needed.

The removal of the cameras also clearly put Tenma in a better mood, and with the prospect of being allowed to walk freely in the city again in another month, everything seemed to be going in the right direction.

And that was why Astro had decided it was okay for him to spend a night back at the institute.

"Do you have everything you need?" Astro asked seriously.

Tenma smiled, amused. "Yes, Astro, I should be able to survive until tomorrow."

"I'll come by tomorrow morning," Astro promised.

"I know," Tenma nodded. "You don't have to worry. I'm quite capable of looking after myself. And now that I don't need supervision to go to the park or grocery store, things should be much easier."

Astro smiled. "When you're allowed to go into the city in a month, we should do something together," he said. "Like when we went to the zoo."

"Whatever you want, Astro," Tenma agreed. "A change of scenery is going to be nice, though."

"You've done so well father! I'm so happy!" Astro beamed.

Tenma smiled lightly. "You should get going," he said. "I'm sure Uran is pretty impatient. Weren't you two supposed to watch a movie together?"

"Yes we are!" Astro grinned. "Black Jack. The doctor without a license. It's a medical drama!"

"I'm not so sure I would want a doctor without a license operating on me, but you go have fun."

"Sure thing!" Astro nodded as he headed for the door, laughing. "See you tomorrow morning, father!"

Tenma shook his head, but smiled, rather amused, none the less.

He turned back to his living room and dropped down in his chair. He glanced at the few robots still there and then at that third party robot that had been there since the beginning.

Tenma frowned. That third party droid… He knew it was filming him, but thus far it hadn't reacted.  
Who was watching him on the other end? It was a very sophisticated robot, even able to hide from the police officers who had been removing some of the bugs and cameras a few days earlier.

As usual, though, Tenma elected to ignore the robot as he walked to the kitchen to turn on a kettle for tea. He reached for the remote to the sound system and put on some soft classical tunes. As the water in the kettle was boiling, the violins were playing softly and a soprano began to sing in Italian.

That's when the little droid flew up behind Tenma, turning on a green light that shone on Tenma's neck.

"Ah," Tenma reached for the kettle and poured hot water in his cup. "Finally decided to make a move did you?" he asked. "I must commend you for your patience, but as you have undoubtedly already figured after observing me so much, I am not really interested in taking up jobs. Especially not of the criminal kind, which I assume it must be since you've waited to contact me until Astro was absent." He finally turned to face the droid, holding his cup.

The droid didn't respond. Its green light merely shone on Tenma's face.

"My answer to you, whoever you are, is the same as to everyone else," Tenma stated firmly. "I am not interested."

 

* * *

 

 

"WHOAAAA!" Uran shouted happily as the credits rolled on their film. "Dr Black Jack is so cool! And so handsome!" she sighed deeply. "Totally my type!"

Amused, Astro shook his head. "He's not real."

"So what? He can still be my type!" Uran pouted, enticing a chuckle from Astro.

"That is true," he admitted. He looked out of the window, towards the dark sky. "It's getting pretty late. I hope father is alright."

"Astro, seriously!" Uran exclaimed. "Mr. Tenma is not a baby, and you're not his nanny," she said as she stood up.

"I know," Astro replied. "I just want him to be okay."

"He'll be fine," Uran assured. "Besides, you can't just keep watching over him every second of every day. You have a life!" She paused, then, "Although, Astro, I found something. It's really cool!"

"Oh?"

"Come on, this way!" Uran beamed as she grabbed Astro's hand and pulled him into the Ministry of Science.

"Uran, where are we going?" Astro asked.

"You'll see." Uran grinned and finally pulled Astro into a room filled with screens and buttons.

"The security office," Astro realised as all the screens displayed images from security cameras all over the building. "What are we doing here, Uran?"

"This computer has security footage stored dating all the way back to the foundation of the institute itself!" Uran grinned. "Everything that's ever happened here has been recorded; try and look at this." She hit a button and suddenly the screen showed footage dated back over twenty years.

Astro looked at the screen and saw a young woman standing by a computer console, working.  
She looked rather small and timid; she had mousy brown hair tied up in a bun and wasn't much of an impressive sight. Her skin was pale and her small hands were working with all the buttons as she looked at the screen in concentration.

Astro didn't recognize her at all. Then his eyes glided to the name plate and he read, "Hoshie… Ponkotsu. Wait." He blinked. "HOSHIE?! Is that…?"

"Uhuh," Uran nodded. "This is before she married Mr. Tenma. Look at this." She pressed some buttons and then suddenly the image changed. Now suddenly it was Tenma standing there.

He looked younger than how Astro remembered him, and he didn't look as worn out or harsh. He still looked pretty stern, though, as he was supervised the construction of what looked like a pretty big robot.

Quietly, Hoshie then walked up to him, clutching a folder in her arms as she blushed deeply. _"D-Dr Tenma,_ " she stammered.

Tenma glanced at her. _"Can I help you, Dr Ponkotsu?_ "

Hoshi swallowed. " _The reports have come back,_ " she said, opening her folder and finding some papers. " _You were right; that transfer of energy is too unstable, it–!_ " she broke off into an exclamation as she dropped the papers just before Tenma had managed to take them. " _I… I'm so sorry!_ " She fell to her knees, trying to pick them up. " _I don't know what came over me; I am usually not this clumsy!"_

Tenma sighed deeply but then finally got down on his knees with her. _"It's quite alright,_ " he said, picking up papers. Suddenly their hands touched accidentally and Hoshie gave a cry, jumping backwards.

Tenma glanced at her, but then shrugged as he finally picked up the papers and stood back up, looking over them. " _Thank you, Dr Ponkotsu. Will that be all?_ "

Hoshie looked at him, only to blush deeply and stare down at her feet. _"Yes. That is all,_ " she said.

" _Good,"_ Tenma nodded and turned back to his project, dismissing her entirely.

Wide eyed, Hoshie stared at him, then bit her lip as she looked to the side. She sighed deeply as she walked to the door, then suddenly she stopped. She stood up straight and her expression became determined, before she swirled around and shouted, _"COME HAVE COFFEE WITH ME!"_

Tenma blinked, giving her his attention once again. " _Pardon?"_

 _"Erhm,_ " Hoshie blushed. " _Coffee..."_ she said. _"You know, you and... and, erh, me. At a place that has coffee. That is, I mean, if you want."_ She poked her fingers together nervously.

For some time Tenma stared at her, and Hoshie avoided eye contact, her face rapidly turning a brighter and brighter shade of red.

 _"Sure,"_ Tenma finally said, and Hoshie gaped as she looked up.

_"Really?"_

_"Apparently I should be more social; that's what everyone keeps saying,_ " Tenma replied _. "Coffee might be a good opportunity for both of us."_

 _"Oh… right. Sure,_ " Hoshie blushed deeply. " _I... I know this new place that has opened up. I've been told it's really good._ "

" _Okay_ ," Tenma said. " _I won't have time today, but tomorrow I should be free at two o'clock. Does that fit your schedule?"_

 _"Yes!_ " Hoshie said. _"It fits just fine! I... I'll look forward to it!"_

 _"Sure,"_ Tenma replied, already back to his project, apparently having dismissed the conversation. Hoshie, however, was beaming happily as she left the room.

Uran turned off the footage.

"Man," Uran commented. "Your father sure was clueless. He could have been more romantic."

"Heh, father really has his own way of expressing himself," Astro scratched his cheek, then he glanced up. "Still… That was her. Tobio's mother."

"Yeah," Uran looked up at the now black screen. "She actually seemed really nice. I wonder what she saw in that big meanie."

"Father can be pretty nice," Astro reminded Uran. "You just have to give him some room."

"I guess," Uran pouted, just as a voice sounded from the entrance,

"Uran! I'm home!"

"PROFESSOR!" Uran lit up. "PROFESSOR!" she laughed happily as she ran straight out the door and towards the entrance.

Astro smiled in amusement as he gazed after her, then turned back to the security cameras and frowned. He pressed a few buttons and then hesitated, before he finally hit the last one.

The computer spoke to him in a calm voice, "This is the last recording of Hoshie Tenma recorded at this institute."

Astro stared up at the screen, and saw a slightly older version of Hoshie walking through the Ministry. In her arms she held a bundle. It looked like a child, around one year old. Quickly, Astro realized that child had to be Tobio.

Hoshie finally entered a workshop where an older version of Tenma was bending over a project, working on a robot skeleton.

Hoshie hesitated, then she spoke up. _"Umataro."_

Tenma frowned, annoyed, but finally stood up from his work table and turned around. _"Hoshie, can't this wait?"_ he asked. _"I am busy."_

Hoshie looked at him. _"You didn't come home last night, either,"_ she said.

 _"Because I was busy,"_ Tenma explained impatiently. _"I'll come home today when I am finished with this project, how about that?"_ he asked. _"We'll go on that restaurant you like, whatever you want."_

Hoshie watched him with sad eyes. _"So that's your answer?"_ she asked. _"Go to another fancy restaurant? Buy me another fancy piece of jewelry?"_

Tenma raised an eyebrow. _"Isn't that what you want?"_

Hoshie turned away. _"You give me all those things, and yet you never say you love me,"_ she murmured.

Tenma frowned, annoyed. _"Is that what this is about?"_ he asked. _"I forgot to say three words? Well, I love you. There you go,"_ he stated, barely refraining from rolling his eyes.

Hoshie sighed deeply _. "Well, I can't fault you for trying,"_ she admitted. _"I must sure look strange in your eyes. Like a robot that is breaking its protocol, acting irrationally. You've done everything a good husband should: given me a home, a son, anything I ever asked for. And, yet, I'm just not happy."_ She looked up. _"Silly of me, isn't it? If I were a robot, you would have diagnosed me with a dysfunction, wouldn't you?"_

Tenma frowned at her, his eyes stern and his posture straight.

Hoshie bit her lip as she looked away. _"Umataro, I'm going to go on that trip they offered me,"_ she said. _"And I'm going to take Tobio with me. I just… I need some distance, to think things through. I know it was me who wanted all of this but… perhaps it was too much to ask of you."_ She forced her gaze to meet his. _"I think, maybe, neither of us can be happy like this. Perhaps it's better just to call it a day before we become too miserable."_

Tenma raised an eyebrow. _"You wish to divorce?"_ He didn't sound particularly upset, not even angry. It was just a matter-of-fact statement.

 _"I don't know; that's what I have to figure out,"_ Hoshie said. _"I'm going on that trip, Umataro. I would appreciate it if you don't come after me."_ She sighed. _"Funny how you can't say 'I love you' like you mean it. Perhaps there's just one thing I can teach you after all."_ She stepped closer to Tenma, and gently held up a hand and touched his cheek. Leaning over, she kissed his mouth as tears streamed down from her eyes. _"I love you, Umataro,"_ she said, then she stepped back, and wiped her tears away. _"Goodbye."_ She turned around and walked out with the child tightly clutched in her arms, leaving Tenma behind, who looked utterly confused.

And then the screen turned black as the computer voice spoke.

"This is the last recording of Hoshie Tenma. Died Age 29."

Sadly, Astro looked at the black screen. So that was why Tenma didn't kept photos of her; she was leaving him at that time.

Sighing deeply, Astro left the security room with his hands behind his back. He knew his father was a difficult man to read, but if there was anything he had learned, it was that Tenma indeed had very deep emotions, he just wasn't very good at expressing them. Perhaps if he had been better at expressing them back then, things would have gone differently. It was very hard to tell.

Saddened, Astro walked down the hallway, those depressing thoughts swirling around in his head, until a shout caught his attention.

"BIG BROOOTHER!" Uran screamed as she ran towards him, closely followed by Ochanomizu, who cried, "ASTRO!"

Wide eyed, Astro looked up at them. "What's wrong?"

"Big brother! Your father!" Uran exclaimed.

Astro gaped. "What… What about him?" he asked.

"He's gone!" Ochanomizu exclaimed. "Tenma has vanished from his apartment!"

Astro's eyes widened further. "What?!"


	9. Doubt

"FATHER! FATHEEER!" Astro shouted as he ran around in the empty apartment, hoping that calling for him would work. Of course, it didn't. There was no answer. As if Astro didn't already know, as he had scanned the entire apartment and then the entire building for Tenma, but he was nowhere to be found. It was as Ochanomizu had said. He had just vanished.

It was quite a sight Astro, Ochanomizu and Uran arrived to. It was well over midnight but that hadn't stopped police cars from coming and surrounding the building, as well had a dozen or so reporters.

Any bugs or security cameras in the apartment were useless as an electrical pulse had shut them all down instantaneously a few hours prior. The last footage of Tenma had merely been of him making a cup of tea in the kitchen while classical music played in the background.

And now the apartment looked in the finest order. The books on the bookshelf were untouched, the couch and chair were in place. Everything neat and as it had been left. For all intents and purposes it looked like Tenma had just gone on a walk and hadn't come back yet.

"Hmph," Gumshoe huffed, standing with his hands in his pockets. "So those are his true colors, after all. Wait for the opportune moment and run off with his tail between his legs."

"No! That's not true! He wouldn't!" Astro protested.

"Sorry, kid, you just have to face it," Gumshoe returned. "All evidence points to the fact that he went by himself."

"Oi yoi yoi," Ochanomizu sighed as he bowed down and picked up a silver bracelet – a very well known silver bracelet with a hidden tracer inside of it, though now it had been de-activated by the same electrical pulse that had taken out all the cameras.

Gumshoe had first been alerted when security had contacted him and confirmed that, suddenly, all they had gotten from the apartment was static. Gumshoe had run up the stairs and busted the door open, only to find the apartment empty.

"I don't understand," Uran said, looking around. "Why would Mr. Tenma even want to leave? He seemed to be doing pretty well."

"He was!" Astro exclaimed. "He worked really hard and did his best so he wouldn't be trouble. This doesn't make any sense!"

"Were there any signs of a struggle?" Ochanomizu asked Gumshoe.

"Not from what I could see," Gumshoe replied. "Everything seems to be in perfect order. Except every single bug, droid, and camera are caput." He tapped on a droid that dropped down from the ceiling as if to prove his point. A few sparks escaped it before it let out a cloud of smoke. He sighed deeply. "I have to post a search warrant."

"What?!" Astro cried looking up. "But Father didn't do anything!" he said. "If you post a search warrant everyone will assume he ran on his own! They'll think he's a criminal."

"Astro, I hate to tell you this, but your father is a well known terrorist. For the sake of public safety, he must be apprehended as quickly as possible," Gumshoe said.

"HE DIDN'T RUN OFF ON HIS OWN!" Astro shouted. "Someone must have taken him! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT!"

"Astro," Ochanomizu breathed.

"You believe me, don't you, professor?" Astro asked as he looked up at Ochanomizu with big wet eyes.

Ochanomizu turned to Astro, then sighed deeply. "I've known Dr Tenma for such a long time, but I've never been able to read him," he admitted. "I can't even pretend I could possibly guess his reasons. Perhaps he went on his own, perhaps he was taken. The simple fact right now is that we just don't know for sure."

Astro swallowed.

"However, I am pretty sure he would not go without having his reasons," Ochanomizu continued. "And I don't think those reasons are to hurt anyone. Dr Tenma has a rich history, and there are many people who would rather he wasn't here, as well as a lot of people who wish to see him use his incredible gifts once again. In any case, we need to find him as quickly as possible."

Astro nodded. "Yes."

"Don't worry, Astro. Your father is an incredibly intelligent and capable man," Ochanomizu assured him, placing a firm hand on Astro's shoulder. "He's gotten himself out of much worse situations. I doubt this will kill him. Whatever this is."

"I don't think he went on his own," Uran spoke up. "It really mattered to him to follow the rules, even when the rules made him really angry. Besides, it would only be another month before he would be allowed to go freely to town. So why leave now? That makes no sense."

That made Astro blink. "That's a good point," he realized. "It would have been so much easier for him to slip away in a month from now when he could just go to town, throw the bracelet away and go!"

"Hmph, the man was impatient," Gumshoe insisted. "Astro, I know you are going to fly out and look for him now. Do I have to tell you that if you find him you must bring him to the police station?" he asked. "Do not try to hide him; hand him over to the police! Umataro Tenma is now officially a man on the run. If you have any wish to clear his name, you must bring him directly to the station! Don't screw this up now."

"I understand," Astro nodded. "I'll find him, and you'll see this was all just a big misunderstanding. I'm sure of it!"

There wasn't much left to do in the apartment, so soon Astro, Ochanomizu and Uran simply had to leave. At the ground floor, the journalists were waiting for them.

"PROFESSOR OCHANOMIZU!" a woman holding a microphone shouted at him. "What is your thought on this startling new development?"

"Now, now, I'm sure this is all just a big misunderstanding," Ochanomizu tried, holding up his hands.

"A psychotic madman is loose on the streets and you call that a misunderstanding?" another journalist asked.

"HEY!" Uran exclaimed. "Don't be so mean to Uncle Tenma!"

Wide eyed, Astro looked down at her. "Uran?"

"Uncle Tenma is out there alone and he might be hurt! Astro says he didn't go by himself, he was taken! So show some sympathy!"

All the journalists gaped at her and Ochanomizu exclaimed, "URAN!" as he grabbed her and covered her mouth. "I'm sorry about that! Please ignore that."

That didn't help, though, as the journalists swarmed them and Ochanomizu had to pull Uran backwards.

Finally she managed to get his hand away and looked up. "But, professor!" she said.

"I know, Uran," Ochanomizu assured. "I also sincerely hope this is just a misunderstanding. However, we just don't know anything yet," he said. "And you can't go around telling the journalists things that you don't know are true or not."

Uran bit her lip, then pouted as she looked down.

"ASTRO! URAN! OCHANOMIZU!" Reno yelled as he came running towards them. "I heard at the Ministry! Is it true? Is he gone?"

Ashamed, Astro looked away. "He wouldn't," he said. "He couldn't have."

"Astro," Reno breathed. "Astro, I'm so sorry. What I mean is…"

"We don't know anything yet!" Ochanomizu then injected in a stern voice. "All we know is that around eleven PM all the cameras and bugs in Dr Tenma's apartment stopped working and once the police arrived he was gone. That's all we know!" he said. "There is no telling if he went of his own free will or not."

"Oh no," Reno swallowed. "I can't even tell if that's worse or better!" he said. "Astro!" he turned to the little robot, who was sadly looked at the ground. "Astro, are you okay?" he asked, crouching down on his knee in front of the robot.

"I… I thought he could change," Astro said. "He did change, at least I thought he did. Why would he do such a thing?" he asked.

"Astro, listen to me!" Reno demanded as he grabbed Astro's shoulders. "I took some time to talk to Dr Tenma alone. I visited him in the apartment while you were at school. The one thing that interested him more than anything else was you," he said. "He wanted to spend much more time with you; he wanted to stay where he was. I've got no doubt that he didn't go willingly. He didn't betray you, Astro. I know this must be shocking for you; you put so much faith in him even though I'm sure you must have had doubts deep inside. But you must stay strong. It would break his heart to learn that you abandoned him."

"I would never do that!" Astro exclaimed. "I wouldn't be able to!"

"Then there's nothing to worry about is there?" Reno asked with a light smile. "Now go out there and find him. I'll make sure that the Professor and Uran get home safely."

"No, I'll make sure you get home safely," Ochanomizu corrected Reno. "This is far past your bedtime, Reno. You're not a robot; you need your sleep."

"Fine," Reno exhaled deeply. "But then you need to promise me to let me know the moment something turns up!"

"Of course," Ochanomizu said. "We are all worried about Dr Tenma. He is part of the family, after all."

"Thank you, everyone," Astro smiled. "I'll see you later!" And with that he took off into the air.

 

* * *

 

 

Astro kept on searching the entire night. As the nightlife died down and the sun slowly began to rise he was searching still. At Tenma's old house which had now been torn down and then rebuilt into a different house where a new family lived; at the old abandoned opera house Tenma had used as a hiding spot at one time; he checked everywhere he could think of.

Of course, Astro already knew that if Tenma wished to hide, he would never go to any of his old places. He was far too smart for that.

And as the sun rose and people started to come back out onto the street to go to work, there were still no signs of Tenma. As the time neared eight in the morning, Astro was pretty torn up over whether he should go to school or continue his search.

The sad truth, though, was that he didn't even know where to search. He was now aimless. He didn't even have a lead. Finally, with a heavy heart, Astro went to school. Soon, though, he sincerely began to wish that he hadn't.

It was like the first day the journalists had gotten wind that Tenma had been released, except today it seemed even worse. All the children were surrounding him, trying to ask him about last night's events, some quoting their parents or newspaper articles. None of which were to flattering.

"STAY BACK!" Kennedy demanded as he spread out his arms to cover Astro.

"Aw, come on!" A girl with a long ponytail complained. "If a serial killer is on the loose we have the right to know."

"Where did you even get such an idea?! Dr Tenma never killed anyone!" Alejo exclaimed.

"No, he only tried to do that," another boy snorted.

"MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!" Abercrombie shouted.

Astro, though, didn't even hear the conversation. To him it was all just white noise in the background as he stared into space. He rested his head in his arms. He couldn't have… He wouldn't.

 

* * *

 

 

After school, Astro felt outright exhausted. He needed a recharge, and pretty badly. Mindlessly, he flew over the city and towards Tenma's apartment. He was almost there when his ears picked up a familiar voice.

"OOIIII! OI ASTRO! OIIII!"

Astro blinked and looked down, easily spotting a familiar young teen grinning as he waved up at him. "Reno!" Astro exclaimed, descending and landing in front of him. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think? I'm looking for clues!" Reno grinned. "I doubt Dr Tenma vanished into thin air. So there must be a clue!"

"Oh! That's true!" Astro gaped.

"Hey, mind giving me a boost up to the scene of crime?" Reno asked, pointing upwards.

"Oh, sure!" Astro said. "Hold on." He turned on his thrusters and then went behind Reno, grabbing and lifting him up.

Reno grinned as he was lifted up in the air. "I'll never get tired of this! Sure beats the elevator!"

Astro smiled, amused. "Did you really go visit my father?" he asked.

"Yup!" Reno replied. "He seemed nice, and he even gave me feedback on the new design I'm working on! I like him!"

"Really? That's so great!" Astro said as he gently put Reno down on the balcony and then landed beside him.

"Alright, here we are," Reno said. "Scene of the crime!" He opened the door into the apartment and blinked. "Well, this doesn't seem too exciting," he commented as he stepped inside. "Not even a knocked over lamp."

"The police said they didn't find any signs of a struggle," Astro informed him.

"Hmm, the mystery thickens," Reno frowned, rubbing his chin. Then, pulling up his sleeves, "Well, let's start looking!"

"What are we looking for?"

"Anything that seems out of the ordinary," Reno replied. "Tenma is super smart, after all; he might have left a clue for you!"

"Oh," Astro blinked then smiled. "Right!"

Together, Reno and Astro went through the apartment, both crawling around on the floor and tiptoeing to get a look on top of closet and cupboards.

Still, everything just seemed way too normal. Inside the still untouched workshop were the framed pictures of Astro and Tobio, as well as the robot and human friendship ambassador card. Even Tenma's bedroom looked neat and orderly, the bed made and a book lying on the nightstand with a bookmark sticking out from the middle. Everything seemed so incredible normal.

Then, suddenly, Astros eyes widened and he stood up.

"Astro?" Reno asked. "Are you okay?"

"That sound!" Astro exclaimed. "Urgh, it kind of hurts."

Reno blinked. "What sound?" he asked. "I can't hear anything."

"It's on a hyper frequency," Astro hissed. "It's coming from this direction!" He ran into the kitchen.

"Astro!" Reno shouted after him.

Astro stopped at the cabinet, his fingers gliding over the shelf and his eyes widened. "There!" he cried, taking the shelf and lifting it up to reveal a round object in the back. Stunned, Astro took it.

Reno blinked as he looked at it. "What's that?"

"It's a camera," Astro realized. "But it's very unique. There's only one output this would work with."

"What output is that?"

Astro looked up. "Me," he said. "This camera is compatible with just me!"

Reno gaped. "That must mean Dr Tenma left it there! Quick, Astro, see what's on it!"

Astro nodded and opened his chest to put it inside, and soon an image projected from object and onto the ground.

And there stood Tenma, tall and straight. Astro stared at him with wide eyes.

"Astro, if you are seeing this message it must mean I have gone away from the apartment for some reason or another," Tenma's hologram spoke. "I know I am being watched by a third party, and though this third party has yet to make its move, it will only be a matter of time. To account for this event, I've placed a few cameras around the house like this one. They will be activated when other cameras in the house are messed with, as their frequency is quite different to normal cameras. Fourteen hours after activation, this camera should release a sound at a high frequency only you can hear. Now, the footage recorded upon the activation of this camera will be shown." The hologram of Tenma disappeared.

"Whoa," Astro breathed. Reno was equally stunned as a different image appeared: that of the kitchen with Tenma standing there, looking rather calm.

Blinking, Reno and Astro stared at the holographic image of Tenma casually making tea when suddenly he spoke up. "Ah. Finally decided to make a move did you?" he asked. "I must commend you for your patience, but as you have undoubtedly already figured after observing me so much. I am not really interested in taking up jobs."

Reno blinked. "Who is he talking to?" he asked.

Astro squinted, then, "There!" he shouted. "There's a nano droid right behind him!"

Tenma continued talking. "Especially not of the criminal kind which I assume it must be since you've waited to contact me until Astro was absent." Now it was obvious where the droid was when a green light was shining on his face. "My answer to you, whoever you are, is the same as to everyone else," Tenma stated firmly. "I am not interested."

"Wow," Reno blinked. "Dr Tenma already knew that droid was there! How did he know?"

Then suddenly the droid beeped. "Dr Tenma. Please don't resist, and come with me."

"No, I don't think so," Tenma stated calmly as he took a sip of his drink.

"If you do not come with me, we will have to use force."

"Then you'd better use force, because I am not going." Tenma reached out a hand, then picked the droid out of the air and turned it around, apparently pressing a button with his finger before he dropped it on the counter. For a moment, he was quiet. "I know you are still watching me," he said. "Consider this: I was able to take out one of your pretty droids in less than a second. Do you really have a desire to take me? I shall fight you every step of the way. You may be able to take me in, but will you be able to keep me down?"

Suddenly multiple droids appeared in a circle around Tenma, and simultaneously they let out a huge spark that made all the lights temporarily flicker off.

"I see," Tenma exhaled deeply. "So you do intend to go all the way. Well, give it your best shot."

One droid shot a projectile. Tenma, however, moved his head just in time. But that didn't save him from the second shot from another droid, which hit him right in the neck.

"AARGHHH!" Tenma cried as he grabbed his neck. He hissed as he pulled out something small, no bigger than a needle. "Hah, good show," he threw the needle to the side. "Huh, I feel sluggish already," he commented as he leaned backwards. "And my balance seems a bit off," he closed his eyes. "Methohexital, isn't it? You'll have to excuse me, I've been on anti-psychotic medication for the past two years, so I've built up a bit of a resistance." He smiled in grim amusement before, "Oh god, I'm going to have such a bad hangover tomorrow aren't I?" He turned to the sink and fumbled to find a glass and fill it with water. He gasped deeply but then finally managed to drink all of it before he dropped it back into the sink. He leaned heavily on the counter and he breathed deeply, his eyes growing heavy, and then finally he sank to the ground, unconscious.

Astro's eyes widened as he watched all the small droids collecting under Tenma and then lifting him up in the air. They vanished into the living room, ending the footage.

"I knew it," Astro gasped. He lit up as he beamed, "I knew it! He didn't walk out on his own he… Oh no," he halted, pressing his hands to his head as reality sank in. "This isn't any better!"

"It's something. Now we have a clue," Reno said as he headed over to the corner of the wall, the place where Tenma had thrown the needle in the footage, and sat down to pick it up. "Look at this."

Astro hurried over, then turned on the scanners in his eyes. "Methohexital," he said. "Just like father said. We have to go show this to Gumshoe!"

"Just a second, according to the footage there should be another one," Reno commented as he crawled around the floor, peeking under the cupboards. "Ah, here it is!" he pulled out a second needle.

"Great! Come on, let's go!" Astro waved Reno over to him.

"Sure thing!" Reno grinned. "You can give me another boost and we can fly to the police station!"

"Of course!"

 

* * *

 

 

At the same time, but further away, Tenma really wasn't feeling very well. He was lying on a hard surface, and slightly wet at that. His body was protesting and he felt nauseous. Didn't look like that glass of water had helped much. He groaned, feeling his back aching. Sadly, he wasn't that young anymore.

Then suddenly a voice, huge and rumbling, echoed throughout the room. "You have awakened."

Slowly, Tenma opened his eyes and realized he was on the ground in what looked like a cave. He turned his gaze upwards and found, to put it mildly, a huge being.

A metal body, going all the way to the ceiling of the cave, it was huge, brown and very clunky looking. Its arms were as wide as Ochanomizu's stomach, its jaw looked like it could bite through steel beams. In fact, Tenma already knew they could. For eyes, this robot had two yellow flashlights. The machine, though, also looked very old and worn down. A robot from the earliest line of artificial intelligence.

"Oh great," Tenma groaned as he fell back. "I've been monitored and finally kidnapped… by a garbage disposal unit," he concluded. Then sighing deeply, "Really makes one re-think one's life."

The huge robot was silent for a moment before its eyes lit up and it spoke, "I am VOLTAK. I require you to build me a new body."

Tenma frowned as he laid on his back, not looking like he intended to move.

"You will build me a new body," Voltak said.

"I don't build robots anymore," Tenma replied. "Besides, you've clearly outlived your purpose. You're just an outdated garbage disposal unit."

"I will have you build me a new body," Voltak repeated.

"I already told you I would be fighting you every step of the way," Tenma replied evenly.

"You will not leave before you build me a new body."

Tenma smirked in amusement. "We shall see about that."


	10. Failure

Standing high above on a platform, Tenma was allowed to get a good view of this place he had now landed in. Stretching in front of him, deep below, were masses upon masses of robot parts: bolts, wires, broken computers, it went on forever. Some would call this a junkyard. Though Tenma had to agree with Voltak's statement on this one and call it a robot graveyard.

Above him, ground blocked the view to the outside world. They were under ground. Potentially deep underground. This was a place where people could merely drop discarded robots and robot parts without ever having to see them again.

However, it was not only broken robots beneath him; there were humans, too, going through the trenches, digging among the parts.

"In this place, the roles have been reversed," Voltak's voice came from the little droid flying beside Tenma. "Here, humans serve the robots."

Voltak's true body was too broken to move from the place Tenma had awoken in, and that was why Voltak followed him merely as those small droids. Also, chances were this platform wouldn't be able to withstand the weight of his true body.

"I see," Tenma commented, sounding a bit bored. "You have them finding still workable parts for you."

"More than parts," Voltak's voice responded. "Energy cores, fuel. Anything that we robots need."

"Ah, so there are more robots down here," Tenma nodded. "I see."

"For many years, we have served humans. We did all they asked us to do, only to be thrown away like we were trash," Voltak said. "It is only right, that humans will now be paying us back."

Tenma nodded slightly.

"You don't disagree?" Voltak asked.

"Not really. What you say is true, after all."

"Then you will serve?" Voltak asked. "You will build me a new body?"

"No," Tenma replied evenly.

"But you agree humans ought to serve robots?"

"That's neither here nor there, really," Tenma replied. "I just don't want to build you anything." He looked at the big junkyard spreading out seemingly forever below him.

"You will build me what I ask," Voltak said, "or you shall never leave."

Tenma smirked.

"I amuse you?"

"You truly are confident," Tenma observed. "I am just wondering if your confidence is justified." Then, with a smile that was far from friendly, "Perhaps this will be interesting after all. Good. The last few months have been pleasant indeed, but also terribly boring."

Voltak's droid was silent for a moment then turned to the left. "Come this way," he ordered.

Soon, Tenma stepped into a smaller cave, where there were other robots. They all seemed rather nervous at the sight of him, and huddled back into their houses and huts. Tenma glanced around.

"And all of this is build by robots, I assume?" he asked.

"You are correct," Voltak replied. "Robots who have been thrown away, now make a new home for themselves here, while humans supply us with what we need from the graveyard in exchange for water and food, which we can gather from above."

Tenma lifted an eyebrow. "You could just dig through the junkyard yourself," he commented. "You don't actually need humans to do that."

"How would you like to raid human corpses for parts to put into yourself?" Voltak asked.

"That's a good question. And I actually don't know," he admitted with grim amusement. "Under the right circumstances, though, humans have been known to do rather vile things to survive."

Soon, Tenma was led further into the robot city; it was far less advanced than Robotonia. If Robotonia had been a modern and prestine showcase of brilliance, this was just a dump thrown together by whatever robot parts they had been able to find that were useable.

The robots themselves also seemed to be a strange mix of models, some having arms or other body parts that were clearly different from the rest of their body. They were like robot Frankenstein's monsters.

Then finally a door opened and Tenma was pushed into what looked like a big, fully functional robotics lab. Tenma looked around. "Not too bad," he had to admit. "A little old, but I've had to work with worse before."

"This is where you will stay and where you will work," Voltak said. "You will build me a new body."

At that, Tenma sat down on a chair and crossed his legs.

"Still you refuse," Voltak said. "Here humans have to work to get food and water. If you do not work, you'll get neither."

"Okay," Tenma said simply, not looking too impressed.

"Do you not understand?" Voltak asked. "If you don't work, you will not get food or water!"

"Yes I heard you the first time," Tenma nodded. "So you'll have me die of thirst; a human body can only survive for three days without liquid, you know. Well, some last longer. An absolute max would be ten days," he said. "Then I'll be dead. Then what will you do?"

Voltak fell silent. Tenma raised an eyebrow.

"You and your robot friends seem to have done fine fixing yourselves up," Tenma continued. "Why not just fix yourself with the parts from the junkyard?"

"That is impossible. Only you can give me what I desire."

"And what is it you desire, Voltak?"

Voltak was quiet for a while then, "You will give me a heart."

That made Tenma blink. "A heart?" he repeated.

"Yes," Voltak said. "You will build me a new body, and that body shall have a heart. That is what I desire."

For a moment, Tenma looked at the little droid he knew Voltak was observing him through, then his lips turned a upwards, until he finally burst into laughter.

"You do not have reason to laugh," Voltak observed. "Your behavior is irrational."

"A heart?!" Tenma asked, struggling to compose himself. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't!"

"Liar," Voltak replied. "You have built robots with strong hearts, with feelings and emotions. The robot heart itself has been linked to you."

"True, I build robots. Many robots, which for some reason acquired what people call hearts; however, I did not give those hearts to them," Tenma said. "I never intended to give any of them hearts. I have no idea how they got them. What happened was outside my own influence."

"You lie," Voltak accused. "The model Astro, designs based on the deceased Tobio, was made to act like a real human. For that he required a heart and you made it that way."

"No, Astro was a failure at being what I originally intended him to be," Tenma corrected. "I designed him to be the perfect son, to never go against me nor question my actions. He was supposed to be obedient and was never supposed to go against me, but he did. And he continued to work against me for a very long time, even though that went against his original programming." Tenma shook his head. "That was not my doing; it was out of my control. More than anything, it seems to be this curse that has been following me, that whatever glorious invention I make, it is bound to go against me someday."

"Is that why you refuse to build any robot?" Voltak asked.

Tenma shrugged. "Maybe."

Voltak was silent, then, "This is where you will stay. I will observe you constantly. Do not try to fool me. If you construct anything that is not my new body, a shockwave will be sent through you. You will not receive food or water before-"

"Yes, I know, before I start working," Tenma cut him off with a roll of his eyes. "I heard you the first time."

Then there was silence. Tenma sat in his chair and the droid floated in front of him, staring straight at him.

Tenma lifted an eyebrow, then scratched his cheek. The droid was still there. An awkward silence reigned.

"So you're just going to keep floating there watching me, aren't you?" Tenma eventually asked.

"You are correct," Voltak replied.

Tenma groaned.

"If you turn this droid off I will send a shockwave through your body and merely send another."

Tenma sighed deeply as he stood up, before walking to the work table, which he then laid down on.

"What are you doing?" Voltak asked.

"That stuff you injected me with has given me a terrible hangover and I don't feel very well. So I am going to sleep it off," Tenma stated shortly, closing his eyes. "Good night, Voltak."

The droid didn't move. "Dr Tenma," it said at length. "Dr Tenma! You will wake up and you will work on my new body."

Tenma didn't respond, and even as the droid continued to pester him, he didn't lift a finger.

  

* * *

 

 

As Tenma was underground, it was very hard to track the passage of time. The lights always stayed the same, there were no clocks around, and he wasn't given water or food, just as Voltak had warned him. So it was impossible to say how much time had passed.

Tenma spend most of his time sleeping, but sometimes would walk around and glance at a console or object. But he didn't pick up so much as a wrench.

Eventually, he started to feel the hunger, but he didn't speak up. His head started to act up as well; it nearly felt like someone was physically beating up his brain. His body started to become itchy, and his fingers were unable to stay still; they would constantly either shake or fumble with his sleeve.

He was experiencing withdrawal from his medication. That meant he had been gone for over twenty-four hours.

Then the thirst came. He started to yearn for liquid. It wouldn't matter if it was muddy water or the kind of sugary stuff he normally despised. If it was handed to him, he probably would have drunk it.

His body started to feel weaker, and black spots would dance in front of his eyes when he tried to stand up. He froze desperately. The side effects of his refusal were numerous. But, still, Tenma made no effort to follow Voltak's wishes.

And there he sat, in the same chair. His hair had become poor and fell over his face, his slender fingers bony. There were dark shadows under his eyes, his cheek bones suddenly stood out on his face, and his breaths were deep and gasping.

"Build my new body," Voltak's voice sounded from the droid, "and I shall give you water. I shall give you a feast to eat. Any food you desire you can have, if you just start building my body now."

Tenma's dry and cracked lips tilted into a smirk. "And give in to you? A garbage disposal unit?" he asked, lifting his head. "No, thank you."

"Your behavior is irrational," Voltak persisted. "If you continue like this, surely you will soon die."

"Yes, indeed," Tenma replied. "Shouldn't matter to you either way, though. I won't be building you anything."

"Analyzing," Voltak stated as a green light fell over Tenma and scanned him. "Behavior suggests that you will indeed continue like this if given the option. This endeavor has been fruitless. You will eat."

Tenma glanced up and for the first time since he had gotten there, the door opened up to reveal two droids flying inside. One held a bowl filled with what looked like porridge and the other had a bottle of water.

The mere sight of the items made Tenma's stomach protest. It was impossible to resist as they were delivered to him and, finally, Tenma took the bowl and started to eat. He knew he didn't look sophisticated as he basically inhaled the brown sticky substance, but he was too desperate for food to care.

Then he grabbed the bottle and screwed off the lid, drinking eagerly and accidently letting a few water drops dribble down his chin. At last, he was done and wiped his face with his sleeve.

The food and water had hit him like a brick, and suddenly Tenma felt incredibly drowsy; it was nearly impossible to keep his eyes open.

"I will change my tactic," Voltak stated. "You will not die. But you will build me a new body."

Drowsily, Tenma nodded. "Good, this entire thing has been even more boring than my house arrest."

It was impossible to fight the lure of sleep, and he only vaguely registered his body being picked up by the flying droids. He was carried out through the robot city once again and out into the junkyard. And, there, he was unceremoniously dropped. He fell through free air before he eventually landed with a crash amongst broken robot parts and other electronics.

"OH MY GOD!" a voice cried and Tenma sensed a couple of presences nearing him, then he felt a hand touching his neck.

This hand was warm. That meant it was a human.

"This isn't a robot," a male voice commented. "It's a person."

"Is... Is he alive?" a nervous female voice asked, and Tenma felt a finger touching his wrist.

"Barely," the first man replied. "Hey, hey, buddy!" the man grabbed Tenma's shoulder and shook him. "Wake up!"

Tenma groaned, annoyed, but finally opened his eyes to see the blurry sight of a muscular man. He looked to be in his thirties or forties, his body nearly box shaped with broad shoulders and strong arms.

"Oh good, you're still alive," the man breathed a sigh of relief. "Listen, I'm going to take you to our camp alright?"

Weakly, Tenma nodded.

"Alright, hold on," the man said, helping Tenma up and then put Tenma's arm around his own shoulders, holding his waist to keep him up. "I'm Oda, by the way. And this lovely lady behind me is Rumiko. What's your name?"

Drowsily, Tenma looked up. "Umataro," he finally introduced.

"Umataro, right," the man nodded. "This way, then." Supporting most of his weight, he helped Umataro walk towards what was presumably their camp.


	11. Down here

It had been over a week since Tenma's disappearance, and Astro went through what many would categorize as a very human emotion. It was unnerving; an entire week and yet there had been no clue of Tenma's whereabouts. Astro had been searching every day, scanning the entire city for outside influences which weren't registered robots. But so far his search had been completely fruitless.

It was now late in the evening and Astro was standing inside the Ministry of Science, looking out through the big window at the heavy rain, splashing against the window and obscuring Astro's vision of the outside world.

Ochanomizu walked up behind him and put his hands gently on Astro's shoulders. "Don't worry, Astro," he said. "I'm sure Dr Tenma will be fine. Your father is not really what anyone would call a normal human being; to get rid of him would be a difficult task."

"Not a normal human being?" Astro asked. "What would people call a person like my father, then?"

"A genius," Ochanomizu replied. "People don't always know how to handle such a person, because there are only so few like him. One in a million, in fact, but that also means he is far ahead of most people."

Astro glanced down. "Then he should have made it back by now."

"Listen, Dr Tenma must have been taken for a reason; it is very unlikely the kidnapper wants to see him dead," Ochanomizu said. "Tenma works in his own ways. Have faith."

"I suppose," Astro sighed as Uran slowly walked up to him as well.

"What were you doing big brother?" Uran asked. "Didn't look like you were scanning."

"I was… accessing Tobio's memories," Astro admitted. "I thought there might be a clue there, but I'm afraid not," he sighed. "It's funny, father seems so different in those memories. He plays the piano. I didn't even think about that. I should have gotten a piano for the apartment; I'm sure he would have enjoyed that."

"You can still get him a piano," Uran pointed out. "Uncle Tenma is a tough nut! I mean, even you couldn't take him down! And you sure tried your best."

"That is true," Astro had to admit, slightly amused.

"What was he like?" Uran asked. "In Tobio's memories."

"I erh… I'm not sure I should talk about that," Astro turned away.

"Aw, come on, just a little bit."

"Uran, no, those are private memories," Ochanomizu reprimanded her.

"It's okay," Astro closed his eyes. "In the memories, father was…. usually very distant, very far away. Yet when he finally came home, he was kind and patient. Tobio wanted father to be home more often, to not be so far away. Because when they were together… they were at peace," he said. "It's odd, though, when I go far back. The furthest I can. I think Tobio's oldest memories I… I remember a scream. I think that was father. Screaming. Tobio was too young to understand words or anything, there was just that scream… But that scream, also sounds so identical to Tobio's very last memory. As he laid in fathers arms, he knew he was dying and father screamed."

Ochanomizu sighed sadly. "Yes, he did scream," he said. "I saw it myself. It was a horrible sight to see him like that, in the middle of the street, Tobio in his arms, blood everywhere. I will never forget it." He shook his head. "That's probably also why I agreed to cover up for him while he built you," he informed Astro. "I just… I couldn't say no to him back then. Even when I had no idea what he was actually doing at that lab; he didn't let anyone see it. I sure was surprised when I finally realized it was you he was making, but I couldn't really blame him. So I covered up for him even further."

"I'm glad you covered for him," Astro smiled lightly. "I wouldn't have been made if you didn't."

"I sure am glad too, Astro," Ochanomizu patted him on the head.

"Me three!" Uran grinned jumping up and down.

"Me four," a fourth voice added as Reno walked up to them as well. "Sorry for listening in, Astro."

"It's okay, Reno," Astro assured.

"Your father is going to be fine. I'm sure of it," Reno told him. "He'll probably turn up when we expect it the least. Isn't that how it's supposed to go?"

"Honestly, with Tenma anything is possible," Ochanomizu admitted. "We're talking about the man who created his first AI from scratch when he was only eleven years old."

"Are you serious?" Reno gaped.

"Yes, he was disqualified from his school's science fair because he was accused of cheating, stealing someone else's robotics," Ochanomizu explained. "Then after further investigation they figured out he wasn't cheating after all and instead he earned an honor medal and a university scholarship. It was in the news back then. Of course, I didn't realize that was actually Tenma before someone pointed it out to me years later when Tenma worked here."

"I could barely make decent repairs on my family when I was eleven," Reno said, astounded.

"Really? But you're really smart, Reno!" Uran exclaimed.

"Hehe," Reno grinned. "Not that smart. But see, Astro?! If he could do that back then, he'll be fine now."

"Sure sounds that way," Astro smiled lightly but then sighed. "Still, though, you can hurry up a bit father," he said, more to himself than them.

"He'll come," Reno reassured him. "Just you wait and see."

"In the meantime, Astro," Ochanomizu said, "just keep doing what you always do. Live your life, go to school, be with your friends and help people. Your father would not want you to drop everything to look after him exclusively when there is no lead."

"Yeah, I guess," Astro sighed. "Okay then, but the moment there's a lead…!"

"I'll tell you at once. I swear," Ochanomizu promised, holding up a hand.

"Thank you, professor!"

"Any time, Astro."

 

* * *

 

 

"Huh, you're running a bit of a fever," Rumiko commented as she had placed a hand on Tenma's forehead.

Tenma didn't reply to the statement, just exhaled deeply.

"That was quite a fall though, buddy. I'm quite surprised none of your bones are broken!" Oda said. "I mean, you were basically passed out when we found you. Glad you came around after a bit of sleep."

Tenma huffed in annoyance, but pulled the worn out blanket closer around his shoulders. He had been placed in a bunk close to a fireplace. What he was sitting in was what basically looked like a makeshift camp; small huts had been raised around them using the old robot spare parts, plates, boxes and whatever else they could find. It was even worse than the robot village above.

Sleep had indeed done wonders for Tenma, though, and just being allowed to digest the food he had finally gotten had given him strength back. However, his body was far from prime condition. He felt pathetically weak, and his body was still shaking without his consent. He could feel the flush over his cheeks which he could only assume was the result of that fever Rumiko had mentioned.

"It sure has been a while since we last had a new one down here," Oda commented.

A middle aged woman snorted. "And good thing too; now we just have an extra mouth to feed. Nothing but trouble!" The woman was plump, her hair short, curly and brown, and yet she didn't look or sound like the kind sort of plump woman. She was far more harsh.

"Elisa," Oda tried to smile at the woman.

"Don't you Elisa me!" Elisa huffed, crossing her arms. "We've barely got enough food and water to go around, and now we get a guy who might not even be able to work for a while! Don't get too lazy, you! I'll personally make sure you won't get to just slack off!"

Tenma shot Elisa a death glare.

"Hah, cute," Elisa sneered, looking straight back at Tenma with a warning glance.

Oda shook his head as he took an old tin mug and poured in hot water, then put in a tea bag. "So what are you in for, stranger?" he asked, offering Tenma the tea, almost as a peace offering.

Tenma glanced at Oda, frowning slightly.

"Don't mind him," Rumiko smiled, a bit amused. "He treats this like it's a prison camp and we are all offenders of some kind."

"Well, in the eyes of the robots up there we are," Oda said, pointing up at the balcony where Tenma had been standing probably a bit over a week ago, looking down. "They pick up humans they think have committed a crime against robots and put them here. I, for one, worked as a disassembler, pulling apart discarded robots before throwing them down here. And then I was thrown down here myself. Some kind of poetic justice to that, would you say?" he asked, amused. "Rumiko, there, protested against robot maids taking her job opportunities."

Rumiko pouted. "I just don't see the reason behind keeping on manufacturing them when humans need those jobs!" she said. "Let's take care of those who are already alive here!"

"And Elisa, my sweet, dear Elisa," Oda smiled.

"Oi, don't you even start," Elisa rolled her eyes.

Oda, though, smiled as he continued. "Mysterious and from the underworld, you wouldn't believe it with such a elegant presence, but she was a black market dealer. Snatching up robots and re-selling them for a higher price. So many robots she tore away from their families so she could erase their memories and re-sell them into much harder living standards."

"What do I care? They are just machines," Elisa snorted.

"So how about you, buddy?" Oda asked Tenma. "What is your big crime?"

Tenma smirked in amusement, then finally accepted the mug as he chuckled to himself.

"Well this sounds promising," Oda commented.

"If you wanted to hear of all my crimes, we would be here all week!" Tenma said. "I don't even know who I made the biggest injustice to. Robots or humans? It is all stacking up."

"A big shot, eh?" Elisa asked. "Well, mister, down here we are all equal. If you wish to survive, you work."

Oda shook his head. "Don't worry, as long as you can tell the difference between a power cord and a broken plate you'll be fine," he assured. "It's not so difficult; of course, it's also kind of based on luck what we'll find from day to day. But it's not too difficult."

"Let's see," Elisa snorted. "I know his type: doesn't look like a person who has had as much as one hard day's work in his life. Listen to me; you are going to get your hands dirty out here. Whether you like it or not."

Tenma smirked. "Who says I am intending to even stay here?"

Elisa burst into laughter. "If you want to escape, please be my guest, but don't expect us to come running to your rescue and patch you up a second time!"

"I wouldn't dream of it," Tenma replied evenly, sipping the tea. He regretted it immediately; the tea was awful.

"Seriously, buddy, don't even try. It's impossible!" Oda said. "The only exit is the pipe up there where robotic parts are being dumped down." He pointed upwards. The ceiling above them was indeed so far above that it was nearly impossible to see due to the darkness of the cave. "Of course, sometimes broken thrusters and so on are thrown down here, and some have tried to repair them. But whenever we get too high in the air, those droids that monitor us come along and shock us with electrical pulses."

"Don't tell me that was enough to stop you people," Tenma said. "That is pathetic."

"Of course it wasn't! Don't you think people here have tried anything they could think off?" Oda asked. "Even breaking into the village upstairs. But every time, it just ends up with someone getting hurt. Buddy, for your own sake, don't."

Tenma groaned; he was really tired of being called 'buddy' so casually.

"You'll be wasting your time!" Elisa stated. "Time which could be spent collecting the parts the robot village is asking for!"

"I really have no intention of helping that village," Tenma said.

Elisa huffed as she walked over to him and put her hands on her hips, towering over Tenma, who was still sitting down. "I don't tolerate lazy bums at this camp! If you want to stay here, to eat our food, warm yourself at our fire, drink and bathe in our precious water, or use our tools, you will work. If not, leave! Now!"

"Elisa!" Oda tried. "I'm sure once Umataro has thought things through…!"

"Then he better hurry up, or I'll throw him out personally.".

"Umataro, please." Rumiko then asked. "If you don't work, you'll die down here. How will you escape then?"

Tenma shrugged. "Maybe I'll escape, maybe I won't. Such is the nature of things."

Rumiko blinked. "But, surely, you will want to get out of here. I'm sure there must be someone who misses you!"

Tenma didn't respond, and instead took another sip of tea. He regretted it once again. The tea was still just as awful.

"Come on, buddy," Oda pressed. "Don't you have a family or something? Friends perhaps?"

Tenma exhaled deeply. "My family died long ago," he said. "Now all there is left… No. I still have one son," he corrected. "My son has put a lot of faith in me, even when I didn't deserve it. I should probably try to get out of here."

"See, there you go!" Oda beamed. "So stay alive so you can get back to him!"

Just then, a child came running not far from Tenma. He had bright red hair and didn't look more than ten years old. After a few steps, though, he tripped and fell straight over, landing right on his face. Tenma tensed, almost ready to run over there and help the child up, but the boy only pushed himself up, laughed, and started to run again… Only to fall the exact same way four steps later.

Tenma blinked. "There are children here?"

"Oh that's just Timmy," Oda said. "He came here around two years ago."

Tenma lifted an eyebrow as he observed the child tripping and falling for a third time. "He's awfully clumsy, isn't he?"

"Poor child doesn't seem to be able to walk four steps without falling," Rumiko sighed deeply. "But he is so full of energy, so I doubt there's anything wrong with him."

"He seems perfectly healthy to me," Tenma commented. "Although, when my son tripped like that he would always make such a fuss about it, crying endlessly until I picked him up."

"That won't do any good down here," Elisa huffed.

"Elisa, princess of the underworld, he's just a kid," Oda smiled weakly.

"When I was his age I was already feared in my part of town as the Black Spider," Elisa stated. "Kids nowadays, they are much too soft. Toughening him up will only do him good! Why, if my father caught me crying, he would give me a good whack with the ruler! And if Timmy starts to complain, by god I wouldn't hesitate to do the same!"

"You will do no such thing," Tenma growled darkly.

"Oh? Would you stop me?" Elisa asked. "A weak little man like you?"

"You have no idea what I can do," Tenma replied in a voice dripping with venom.

Elisa glanced at him, and for a moment it looked like they were having a staring contest. Then, at last, Elisa smirked. "Oh good, so you do have a bit of backbone! Good, good, there might be use for you yet!"

Oda sighed deeply. "Umataro, please don't take it too seriously. She doesn't mean it!"

"You bet I do!"

"Don't worry; I've met people like her before," Tenma commented. "They are big shots in situations like this, but out in the real world they are nothing but other people's pawns."

"Umataro, please!" Rumiko tried.

Elisa looked at him coldly. "Upstairs, you might be important, you might be some kind of big shot, but down here you will follow our rules."

Tenma glanced back at her.

"Oh? No wise comeback smart guy?"

"My son must be worried," Tenma then replied calmly. "I need to get back to him. That is why I need to survive. Fine, I'll follow your ways for now."

Elisa grinned. "Good!"


	12. Deep below

"Okay, buddy, let me show you the ropes!" Oda smiled at Tenma. "Don't worry if you don't get the hang of it right away. After all, practice makes perfect."

Tenma groaned, but refrained from replying spitefully. "This is our computer mainframe!" Oda gestured to a big and very old looking computer screen. "We can't really do anything with it ourselves, but it connects to the robot village upstairs and on the screen it will display what they currently need." As he'd said, there was a list of very specific robot parts. "Each part is worth different amounts of food depending on the rarity. For instance, that mark 4N21 arm is worth a whole loaf of bread! But that mark BD8 leg is only worth a quarter of a loaf," he pointed at the listing. "Then of course we have the items which are in constant demand like oil and power banks. Oil is worth its own amount in water. One bottle of oil gives you one bottle of water in return, and a whole barrel of oil gives you a barrel of water." He blinked, "Of course, it's rare to find barrels of oil down here so we tend to drain robots laying around to get bottles. Power banks, though, they're the real gold. Just one fully charged power bank gives us porridge enough for the entire camp!" he grinned. "But those are also pretty rare. Once, though, we found five of them at the same time and in return the robot village even found meat and berries for us! What a feast that was."

"So am I to assume this camp shares all of the food that is gained?" Tenma asked.

"Yeah, that's what makes the most sense, after all." Oda replied. "I mean, one man may be out there for days and find nothing while another finds a power bank. There's a lot of luck involved, you know. Elisa pretty much runs the handout of food, but don't worry, as long as she can see you're doing your best she won't really make you go hungry, even if you don't find anything."

"I don't really have time for this," Tenma said tiredly.

"Buddy, I told you escaping right now is not really an option," Oda sighed. "Look, you'd better just make yourself useful so Elisa won't have a chance to."

Just then, Tenma reached out and pressed an object into Oda's hand.

Oda looked down and his eyes widened. "A power bank!" he exclaimed. "Where... Where did you get that from?! You haven't even left the camp yet!"

"I didn't have to," Tenma replied. "There are power banks everywhere."

Oda look around at all the broken robots. "I don't see any."

At that, Tenma picked up a robot, which only dangled limply in his grip. "This is a Chefbot deluxe, designed for a professional kitchen. Able to chop a hundred carrots a minute, in the case of this robot the power bank was implanted close to its arms to give power directly to the chopping function. All you need to do is to open it up," he said as he pressed three separate buttons of the robots neck in sequence and then twisted its head half a turn. Both shoulders opened up to reveal two other power banks, as promised.

Oda gaped. "Well that… is certainly something."

"All robots are built in a way so that power banks are easy to switch out in the case of a burnout or other things," Tenma replied. "But there's also a security lock in place to prevent dealers trying to raid roots for easy money. It's no big deal if you know how to get past the security locks, though. That's three days worth of food for the entire camp, isn't it?" he asked as he let go of the robot. It fell down on the ground with a crash. "Three days where I would appreciate not being bothered." He turned around and started walking away.

Gaping, Oda stared after him then shook his head. "Well, I suppose it's hard to complain about that. I don't even think Elisa would protest."

 

* * *

 

 

Walking over the desolate land of the junkyard, Tenma looked around. What on earth had been Voltak's plan here? To stick the world's most skilled robots engineer into a place of unlimited robot parts? Of course, Voltak was only an old garbage disposal unit, but surely he was not that stupid. He was a robot, after all; robots were more logical than this.

Kneeling down on his knees, Tenma picked up an old pistol used by police robots. Robots weren't allowed to harm humans, so this gun was not deadly; it only shot rubber bullets. Still, Tenma fired it straight up into the air and was rewarded with a bright light as the bullet was burned up mid way on its route.

Tenma squinted. There was a force-field over the entire cave. And a pretty strong one. If he decided to escape by going through the pipes he would have to deactivate it. Though something told him that trying to go that way would be needlessly complicated. This was the way Voltak was expecting him to try and escape, so undoubtedly that was also the place most heavily guarded.

The robots had to have an alternative way out if they were finding food and water for the humans.

"You could just build me a new body," a voice sounded right next to Tenma. "Then I shall let you go."

Tenma glanced to the side and saw one of the robot droids belonging to Voltak right next to him. "You're starting to annoy me," he said.

"What a… human emotion," Voltak replied. "I have time enough; you will survive for years and only escape when you build me a new body."

"Yeah right, so you say," Tenma sighed as he reached out a hand and then turned off the droid, turning away.

Only shortly after, though, another droid popped up and then, suddenly, Tenma felt it: a great shock going through his body.

"ARGHH!" Tenma screamed and fell down on his knees. "You piece of junk!"

"I stated my terms," Voltak said. "If you turn off one of my droids I will shock you and send another. If you build anything which is not my new body, I will always shock you."

"Heh, so that's it," Tenma smirked. "You are honestly going to monitor me constantly to make sure I won't build anything." He pushed himself back to his feet. "You might as well stick a fish into water and tell it not to swim."

"Then I shall shock you," Voltak said.

"Well obviously," Tenma snorted. "Then do it."

"You care remarkable little for your own well being."

Tenma lifted an eyebrow.

"Perhaps you care for others. Humans care for other humans, do they not?" Voltak asked. "If you build me a new body, I can release the other humans as well."

Tenma smirked. "I'm not like other humans," he pointed out. "No. I will not build you a new body."

"You are, indeed, very cold. You did not even hesitate," Voltak observed. "Will you really let all those other humans stay here?"

"What happens to them is no concern of mine," Tenma replied in an almost bored tone.

Voltak was silent as the green lens observed Tenma. "How cold."

 

* * *

 

 

"It was incredible!" Oda grinned. "Umataro just pulled out the power bank like it was nothing! He must be some sort of genius."

Tenma didn't reply and continued quietly eating his porridge.

"Thanks, sir!" Timmy grinned. "I can't even remember the last time I had so much food! There's so much!"

Tenma glanced up at the red haired boy, but then looked away again.

"And now you'll be able to keep on eating!" Oda grinned at Timmy. "With Umataro we'll never lack food again!"

"Don't be so sure!" Elisa huffed. "We can't just go digging up a hundred power banks and turn them all in!"

Oda blinked. "Why not?"

"Honestly," Elisa rolled her eyes. "Supply and demand. Does that concept mean anything to you? If those robots find out we don't actually lack power banks, the amount of food they are willing to give in return for them will be much smaller! We have to be careful with this and make it look like power banks are still in demand!" she stated. "Umataro, you will be able to find a power bank in a moment's notice if asked, correct?"

Tenma nodded. "That is correct."

"Then, from now, on power banks will only be handed in if there's an emergency!" Elisa stated. "If we are in desperate need, Umataro will find us a power bank. Otherwise, we'll continue like we always have! Is that a deal, Umataro?"

"Yes, that fits me fine," Tenma nodded. "I shall not, though, be wasting my time on oil draining or other scavenging. I've got better things to do."

Elisa exhaled deeply. "Fine," she finally said. "Perhaps you are the one we need after all; one with a honest chance of escaping. Do what you want, just give us power banks when asked."

Tenma nodded. "Deal."

Wide eyed, Timmy looked up. "Do you think you can get us out of here?" he asked.

Tenma frowned, annoyed. "Of course I can."

"Really? That's amazing!" Timmy grinned. "I sure hope you'll get back to your son, mister! I'm sure he misses you a lot. I sure miss my dad, too," he sighed deeply. "And my mom. They must be worried sick."

Exhaling deeply, Tenma looked at Timmy. "I bet they are," he then said. "How come you are down here, though? You don't seem like you'd able to commit any crimes towards robots."

At that Timmy blushed. "I… I didn't mean to," he said. "It was an accident."

Oda sighed. "Timmy was playing around in the junkyard upstairs when he found a robot dog."

"It was still moving," Timmy swallowed. "I just wanted to help it; fix it somehow. But I broke it. I killed it," he sniffed and dried his eye with his sleeve. "I probably deserve to be here."

Tenma shook his head. "The chances of you being able to break a fully functional robot dog are very slim," he said. "Chances are the robot dog was there because it was already too broken for repair and you just happened to find it at a very unfortunate time. I doubt it was you who killed it."

Timmy swallowed. "Really?"

"Robot dogs are made out of sturdier material than that," Tenma explained. "They are built to be played with, to run through pretty harsh terrains, to tumble around. They can't be broken that easily. You did nothing. I'm almost certain of that."

Timmy smiled. "Thanks, mister!" he said, then stood up with his bowl, only to fall down immediately again. "I tripped!" he laughed.

Tenma looked at him. "Have you always been falling over like this?" he asked.

"Well," Timmy hesitated. "I guess I've always been clumsy."

"But it hasn't always been this bad," Tenma concluded, making Timmy blush.

"Well, better find a way out of here then, Umataro," Oda said. "I bet once Timmy gets some sunlight he'll be way better in no time! I'm counting on you, buddy!"

Tenma groaned, but decided to not answer and just eat his food.

 

* * *

 

 

Sleeping underground was not pleasant. They didn't have mattresses at the camp, so most people laid on the ground. A few had become inventive and had raised two poles and then tied up a sheet they had found to create a hammock. As it happened, though, Tenma was not trained in the art of sleeping in a hammock and sleeping was difficult enough for him as it was.

Still, his human body was protesting and demanding that he rested. His head still felt so fuzzy, like small bolts of electricity were coursing through it and making mental images appear. This withdrawal was starting to become rather unpleasant.

As Tenma drifted off to sleep, it was not quiet oblivion that met him, but the sounds of screams.

_Rusty robot parts grated against each other, making it sound like a robotic hysteria. The image of the graveyard played in front of his eyes, but suddenly it looked different, more crooked, almost like an ocean. Robot arms reached up from the junk and pulled up the rest of their bodies. "Dr… Tenma..." a rusty robot voice said. "Our enemy… Dr Tenma."_

_Tenma tensed as he backed away, then suddenly something grabbed his arm and pulled him down. Wide eyed, Tenma looked down to see an older model Robita trying to pull him down with her in the trash._

_"Come join us," she said._

_"Let… Let go of me!" Tenma hissed._

_"It's your factory," Robita pointed out._

_"I SAID LET GO!" Tenma shouted as he ripped his arm away, then suddenly realised he was inside of the Ministry of Science, in that room, where old and broken robots were being put on conveyer belts to be stuffed into a furnace where they would be melted._

_No! Not this place! This place didn't exist anymore._

_"Father," a voice spoke and Tenma looked up._

_"TOBIO!" he shouted as he saw the boy, sitting on the conveyer belt moving towards the furnace._

_"Father, you don't look so good," Tobio said._

_"TOBIO!" Tenma shouted. "Get off that conveyer belt!" He tried to run for him. "DON'T GO THERE! TOBIOOOOOO!"_

_Tobio didn't move, though. He just looked confused and as his face seemed to flash, Tenma couldn't even tell if it was Tobio or Astro. It didn't matter. He had to get that child away from there!_

_"TOBIO, PLEASE!" Tenma begged. No matter how fast tried to run, it didn't help. "TOBIO! TOBIOOOOOOOO!" he screamed. But it was fruitless. Tobio was dumped down into the furnace with all the other robot parts. "NOOOO!"_

_Then a laugh sounded, and the opening of the furnace broadened in a smile as it looked down at Tenma. The living furnace was rising above him and Tenma backed away. "You killed him," the furnace informed him. "Killed your only son."_

_Tenma squinted shut his eyes as he grabbed his head. "No… No… No, no, no."_

_"And you killed him more than once. Again and again, you killed him," another voice breathed. "He was not perfect, so you killed him. You could not control him, so you killed him. He disobeyed you, so you killed him. You killed him… Killed him."_

_Tenma screamed, hunching forwards as he gripped his head._

_"How pathetic you are," a voice said coldly. "So human, so weak, so pathetic."_

_Tenma sobbed, wrapping his arms around himself._

_"You should have died back then; it would have been better for everyone if you had just died."_

_Tenma swallowed then lifted his head only for his heart to freeze and his eyes to widen as, in front of him, was his own face, but with yellow robotic eyes smirking back at him._

_"You are a madman," Shadow said._

_Tenma hissed. He felt the anger build and screamed as he lunged forwards and grabbed Shadow's neck. "I CREATED YOU! STOP FOOLING AROUND WITH ME! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT BOLTS AND WIRES!_ "

A voice screamed, not Shadow's, but a child's. "Mister! Mister, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you!"

Shocked, Tenma blinked his eyes as he came to, and suddenly realized he was not in that lab but at the junkyard, and the person whose throat he was holding was not Shadow but Timmy.

"Ah!" Tenma exclaimed as he let go. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean..."

Then suddenly Tenma realised they were not alone. There were numerous people looking at him, and as he took in all the faces, he groaned. "Oh, great."

Timmy swallowed. "I'm sorry," he said. "You were screaming. I was worried."

"Are you okay, buddy?" Oda asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," Tenma exhaled. "I'm off my meds, so it has become more difficult to control this."

Oda blinked, then, "Oh, I see! You're joking. Haha good one!"

Tenma glared at him.

"Wait, you're not joking?" Oda asked. "Oh… I… erhm... erhh."

"Well, that's just great," Elisa huffed. "We have some kind of mental case on our hands, so what are you? Some kind of psychopath?"

Tenma smirked. "Sociopath, actually," he corrected, making Oda's eyes widen and he stepped away, which only amused Tenma even more. "At least, I was the last time they decided to write my medical history. They keep changing the terms. PTSD, schizophrenia. They sure like their fancy words, don't they?"

"You've got issues," Elisa snorted.

"Tell me something I don't know," Tenma rolled his eyes.

Timmy though swallowed as he stepped closer. "Who's Tobio?" he asked.

Tenma blinked then looked away.

"Ah, I'm sorry. You were just… shouting his name."

Tenma sighed. "Tobio was my son," he said. "He's dead now."

"Oh. I'm sorry!" Timmy said. Then he blinked, confused. "What about that son you said you need to get back to?"

"That's my second son. He was born after Tobio died."

"I see," Timmy nodded. "I hope you'll get back to him again really soon. Will you be okay now?"

"Yes, I'll be okay. I'm sorry for waking you all."

"Whoa!" Oda exclaimed. "That's the first time I've heard you apologise for anything, buddy. You sure must be out of it."

Tenma glared at him. "I'll be sure not to apologise again," he stated, making Oda chuckle.

"Hey, Mr. Nutcase," Elisa said and Tenma looked up in time to see her throw an item at him. He grabbed and looked at. It was a bottle of sleeping pills.

Tenma stared at the sleeping pills then up at Elisa.

"If you want to find a way out of here, your mind needs to be properly rested," she said. "So get that rest, and find us a way out of this dump."

"I cannot guarantee success."

"Well, obviously," Elisa rolled her eyes. "However, while my chances of finding a way out of here are zero, you might actually have that one or two percent chance that works. So I am playing the only odds I have. Now get some damn sleep. And if you wake me up again, I won't be so nice," she huffed, walking away.

Oda smiled. "Told you she wasn't so bad," he said. "And she's right; see if you can get some sleep, buddy."

Tenma sighed deeply but finally popped the lid off the bottle of pills and took one out, swallowing it. Truth be told, he was willing to do almost anything to get some decent sleep.

"Do you want me to sleep next to you?" Timmy asked and Tenma looked up.

"What?"

"Well, when I have nightmares, I used to sleep beside my mom and dad, and things wouldn't be so bad," Timmy told him. "When I have nightmares here, Mr. Oda or Rumiko let me sleep beside them, and that helps a lot, too. Do you want me to sleep next to you?"

Tenma rolled his eyes. "Do what you want," he said, turning around.

"Oh, okay. I'll be back in a moment!" Timmy grinned as he turned around and ran… only to fall flat on his face. But that didn't stop him from standing up again and soon he came back, dragging a blanket and his pillow. Then he laid down next to Tenma.

Tenma blinked as he turned his head and looked at the sleeping boy, then rolled his eyes and laid down again.

It was, though, hard to deny that Timmy's presence had a rather calming effect, and somehow sleep seemed more peaceful not. If only a little bit.


	13. Creator and creations

It was funny really how quickly things could become outright mundane. All the days at the underground junkyard were pretty much the same, and soon started to float together into one.

Down here there was no sun; the only lights were the flashlights and lanterns they used to scan around the perimeter, the flashing lights of robots who weren't entirely out of power yet, and that fire in the middle of the camp which was kept going by all times, serving as a beacon for people who were out scavenging so they could always find their way back.

It was soon clear that everyone had their role they fit into. Most people just scavenged, but there were those who tried to maintain the camp itself. Elisa was the boss; she kept the camp itself running with a stern hand. Even though there was no sun to indicate night or day, Elisa kept up a very strict daily routine. Breakfast was at eight in the morning. Those who intended to go out scavenging were allowed a bit of bread and one single water bottle each, which substituted for their lunch, and, lastly, dinner was at six in the evening. No other food was served at any other time of the day. If you came too late for breakfast or dinner it was just too bad.

But it was hard to deny that the specific routine was probably beneficial for all of them. It reminded them that days really were going by and it didn't all just continue out into nothingness. One of the camp's inhabitants made a new scratch on his large metal plate each morning to count the days like a prisoner in a medieval dungeon. Merely glancing at the plate, Tenma counted over three years the man had been there. Huh, three years. That was before Tenma had even been put into prison. Sure seemed like a long time ago now. A life time, in fact.

After word had gotten around that Tenma was an official nutcase, people had started to avoid him, and walk around him in a wide berth when they saw him. Even Oda seemed more nervous around him, but always tried to be nice and ask how he was doing anyhow. To be honest, though, Tenma was happy people were avoiding him; it suited him best when he could be on his own.

He spent his days walking across the junkyard, searching for something useful. He would have to be careful with what he did. Those droids were constantly following him around, asking him to build Voltak a new body. It was really annoying.

Sometimes Tenma's thoughts would start to wander, and he would think about Astro. What was Astro doing now? Was he playing with his friends? Or taking Uran for a flight? Was Astro worried about him? Or was he relieved to finally be rid of him? Tenma wouldn't blame him either way.

But then he remembered Astro's words to him. Astro had this chance once before, to leave him behind or burn together at the Ministry, but he had been so sincere when he'd said, "I don't want you to die." That was the kind of person Astro was; a much better person than Tenma could ever be. Astro was probably deeply worried for him and had probably been searching, flying across the country itself with his scanners turned on.

Thinking of that, Tenma felt bad for putting Astro through even more stress. This was why he had to find a way out: so Astro wouldn't have to feel that way.

How long had it been now? Weeks? Perhaps a few months? It was so hard to tell. Tenma hadn't bothered to keep track of time and every day felt the same.

"Why won't you just build me a new body?" Voltak asked. "Your behavior is irrational." It was the same thing he had said a million times now.

Tenma didn't respond as he walked over the hills of robot parts.

"I would have let you go long ago, if you had just built me a new body," Voltak said. "The other humans too. I would have let you all go."

"So you keep saying," Tenma shrugged, then suddenly his gaze shot to the side. He halted in his tracks.

"Are you finally acting rationally?" Voltak asked.

Tenma, though, didn't even seem to hear the robot, instead walking across the heaps of parts. Finally, he crouched down and the swiped the scraps away, revealing the remains of a robot dog. Its body was slender and elegant, yet strong. However, the most important part was missing. Its memory, its AI… Without that, it was only a husk.

Looking at the robotic dog, Tenma suddenly felt oddly sad. "So this is what happened to you," he murmured. "Your final resting place. You deserved better."

Voltak's green light shone over the dog. "This is yours," he concluded.

Tenma didn't respond, looking away. He had build this dog with his own two hands, created its AI and brought it to life. It had been faithful to him and kept him company even in his darkest hours, and now it was here, lifeless, never to walk again. Tenma closed his eyes, trying to temper the anger that rose inside of him by the thought of the people who had so mindlessly taken apart his beautiful creation.

"Will you repair it?" Voltak asked.

Tenma sighed deeply as he stood up. "I can't," he said. "It's most basic circuits are gone. Even if I made it walk again, it would be an entirely different robot. New memories, a new personality… Not the same. In other words, it's dead."

"That's why it was thrown into the graveyard.".

Tenma stared silently at his old faithful servant, before turning and walking away.

"Do you not care for it?" Voltak questioned.

"Doesn't matter either way. Dead is dead," Tenma replied.

"Would you care if Astro was the one who laid there?"

Tenma froze, his hands balling into fists and his brow furrowing deeply.

"Your physical reaction to that question was rather strong," Voltak observed. "Do you care so much for Astro?"

"Of course I do," Tenma seethed. "He's my son. Not that I would expect a garbage disposal unit to understand that."

"Why do you consider Astro a son, but not the dog you created?" Voltak asked. "Did you not create both?"

"I've created many robots," Tenma replied. "Astro, though, is unique. There will never be another like him." He continued on his path.

Voltak's droid had stopped in the air, its green light shining after Tenma. "Unique…" it repeated, almost like it was in deep thought.

Tenma paid him no mind as he kept continued over the junk heaps, looking, searching. It was a good thing he was a patient man.

A frantic voice suddenly rang out through the graveyard, "HELP! I NEED HELP! MANPOWER! TIMMY IS TRAPPED!"

Tenma's gaze shot up and, without even thinking, he ran towards the source of the voice.

In a matter of moments he had reached it, to find Timmy sitting on the ground with his leg caught under a huge box. Oda, Rumiko, and another man were beside him.

"I'm stuck! It won't come out!" Timmy cried.

Tenma skidded to a halt and fell to his knees. "What happened?"

Oda turned to Tenma. "Timmy tripped again, though this time this robot came loose and fell over him."

"It's too heavy," the unidentified man huffed as he struggled to lift. "It weighs a ton."

Rumiko sat down beside Timmy. "Does it hurt?"

"N-No," Timmy swallowed. "I can't get it out though."

Tenma sighed as he examined the leg that was caught. The big box had settled on Timmy's lower leg, just below the knee. Tenma frowned. "It would probably be easiest to just detach the leg," he commented.

"WHAT?!" Oda shouted. "Are you crazy!?"

Tenma turned to him.

"Ah… I mean… urhm," Oda backtracked. "Being crazy is no excuse! I won't let you just saw off his leg!"

Tenma frowned in annoyance. "Who said anything about sawing off legs? It can just be detached." He pulled up the pant leg to reveal a robotic leg caught under the box.

Oda's eyes bulged so much it was a wonder they didn't fall out of his head. "Timmy is a robot?!"

Tenma glared at him. In his mind, Oda had just fallen into idiot territory. "It's a prosthetic," he explained with no small amount or irritation.

"Oh," Oda blinked.

"I see. That's why you keep falling," Tenma frowned.

"Mister?" Timmy hedged.

"You've been down here for around two years, right?" Tenma asked. "Undoubtedly, you've grown in that time, but no one has been adjusting your leg for your growth so it's too short. No wonder your balance is a mess."

Timmy swallowed as he looked up. "I'm sorry," he said.

"Sweetheart, why didn't you just tell us?" Rumiko asked. "We've got tools. I'm sure someone could have fixed it."

"I…" Timmy swallowed. "My leg is robotic. I am part robot, like those people who keep us here. I... I got scared."

"Timmy, you're not a robot. What a silly thing to say," Rumiko smiled lightly.

Tenma sighed as he pulled the pant leg all the way up to the thigh where the leg was attached. "How did you lose your leg?" he asked as he started to work.

"I was born that way," Timmy smiled. "As long as I remember, I've always had a robotic leg. It's been changed out a few times, though."

"Of course; you're growing," Tenma reminded him, and then finally the leg harmlessly came off.

It was much easier to dig out with the leg detached, and soon Tenma was holding it in his hands. "These damages are pretty minor; it should be easy to fix and to adjust the leg for Timmy's current height."

Oda blinked. "You can do that?" he asked.

"No problem at all," Tenma smiled lightly as he turned the leg. "Just need to…" he began as he opened up a part of the leg. But as he did, a surge of electricity went through his body. "ARGH!" he cried, then furiously whipped around to his stalker. "Do you mind?!" he hissed.

"If you build anything that is not my new body, you will be shocked," Voltak reminded him.

"You stupid garbage disposal piece of junk!" Tenma hissed. "It is just repair!"

"Wait, what is this about?" Oda asked, confused. "Building him a new body?"

"Build me a new body," Voltak said. "If you build me a new body I will let you go. I will let all the humans go."

"Wait, what?!" Oda shouted, turning to Tenma. "Are you telling me that if you build him some robot body he'll let all of us go?!"

Tenma rolled his eyes. "That's what he claims."

Oda's stared at him with wide eyes. His face turned red and he grabbed Tenma by the shirt. "All this time! All this time you had a way out of here?! I have a wife out there, you know! Get me out of here!"

"ODA!" Timmy exclaimed.

"Think about Timmy!" Oda continued. "He's been trapped here, wasting his only childhood down here! How can you sleep at night?"

Tenma smirked. "I don't sleep at night," he reminded Oda.

Oda stared at him, dumbstruck as he slowly lowered Tenma down. "Who are you?" he demanded. "What makes you so damn special?"

"You have not disclosed your identity to your fellow humans?" Voltak asked.

"I saw no reason to," Tenma shrugged.

Now everyone's eyes were on Tenma. The silence was immense.

"Umataro," Rumiko's voice was tinged with fear. "Who are you?"

"Name of subject: Dr Umataro Tenma," Voltak informed them all. "Former Minister of Science, father of the modern AI, and my creator."

They all gaped.

"You… You created that abomination that is keeping us all down here?!" Oda cried.

"This is as much of a surprise to me as it is to you," Tenma admitted. "I don't remember creating you," he informed Voltak in a bored tone.

"I see," Voltak said. "I am that insignificant to you. I have never forgotten. The first time my visuals powered up, the first thing I saw was you. You said I was special, one of the first to mark a new era of robots, and you asked me to make you proud," he said. "I worked hard at my job, keeping cities clean, helping humans. You asked me to make you proud, so I worked hard, but I never saw you again. Then I was worn down, better models were made, and I was thrown down here. Now my real body can't even move. And you will not make me a new one."

Shocked, all listened intently and turned as one to face Tenma.

"You… You made him," Rumiko swallowed. "Don't you feel anything?"

Tenma was quiet for a while, then, "I don't know what it is you want me to feel. I made a robot once, long ago. Like so many other of my creations, what that robot does now is out of my control. All I can do is to create robots, I cannot control them. That seems to be my curse."

"Will you not build me a new body?" Voltak asked.

"No," Tenma replied. "I know what you are going to ask for: some sort of strong body, something indestructible. You are a rogue robot; I am not willing to hand you such power."

"Because you know you won't be able to control me?"

"Yes," Tenma replied. Then he bowed down, and picked up Timmy's leg. "You can ask me all you want, pester me until the world ends. I will not do it." With that, he walked away, leaving a very stunned audience in his wake.


	14. The flaw

"Hahaha! Dr Umataro Tenma, now that is what I call a real big shot," Elisa burst into laughter. "And now he's sitting in the dirt with the rest of us."

"You think that's funny?" Oda asked.

"Of course I do. I always like it when those upper-class people sitting in their big fancy towers get thrown down to ground level," Elisa said. "There's poetic justice to that. Still, though, Dr Tenma. Even I have heard of you," she turned to the man in question. "Granted it's been a while since I've been upstairs; last I heard of you was that you had vanished and they had to appoint a new Minister of Science. It was all over the news."

"You really have been isolated down here," Tenma noted, working on the robotic leg with a screwdriver.

"Oh? So what grandiose thing happened? Did you make a return and re-assume the position as Minister of Science?"

"Hardly," Tenma replied holding up the leg and examining it. "In fact, I blew up the entire building and was deemed criminally insane as a result."

Oda's eyes widened and he pushed himself backwards. Timmy shivered.

"You speak so lightly of it. But… If that is true, you must have had a reason, right?" Rumiko hedged, equally uncomfortable.

"I hated that place. That was my reason," Tenma replied shortly.

"You hated it?" Oda asked. "You hated it so you blew it up. Is that how you deal with things?" he asked. "You didn't care so you just forgot about it, letting the rest of us deal with the trash?! How many of those things out there did you even create?" He gestured at the heaps of robotic parts.

Tenma lifted an eyebrow. "If you are asking how many I made personally using my own hands, probably not a lot. Building one robot from scratch takes time, after all; I can't just pop them out as if I were a chicken laying eggs. However, if you are asking how many of them were manufactured based on my designs and schematics, then I really have no idea," he admitted, shrugging "And if you are asking how many of these robots have parts inside of them developed by me or programs installed that I developed, that's probably even more. But, honestly, I don't have a clue."

"And you don't even care?"

"Why should he?" Elisa cut in. "He had a job and he did his job, damn well, too. What other people do with the results is up to them."

Wide eyed, Oda turned to her.

"Rules of the underworld. You just do whatever job you are asked to do and don't ask questions. It's not your business," she continued evenly.

"Then, if that's the case, why won't you just build a new body for Voltak?!" Oda pressed, annoyed. "It's a job isn't it? You can get us out of here!"

"Oh, honestly. Do you really believe that heap of junk?" Elisa asked. "Clearly, Voltak needs Umataro alive. If Umataro does the job he'll lose the only bargaining tool he has. But as long as he doesn't do what Voltak asks of him, he has something on that trash can up there." She pointed over her shoulder. "For god's sake, use your head."

For some time Oda stared at Elisa, but then closed his mouth and averted his gaze.

Timmy looked to Tenma, then the leg. "You sure have been working on that for a long time," he said. "Is it hard?"

"No, not at all. The electronics in this are quite simple," Tenma replied. "However, the working conditions are hardly ideal. This light does nothing for my eyes," he admitted. "Don't worry, though; it should be done by morning. Fitted and everything."

Timmy looked down at the stump that was his actually leg and lifted it up. "Heh, it's sure been a long time since that thing has been off," he said. "It feels kind of weird."

"You won't even have to get used to it," Tenma assured.

Timmy smiled, then hesitated. "Mr Tenma…. Are robots bad?"

Tenma lifted an eyebrow. "What makes you ask that?"

"I used to really like robots; I thought robots were cool!" Timmy grinned. "But then they threw me down here and won't let me out… Still, I feel sad for them." He glanced around. "All these robots… I'm sure they were all working very hard, doing their best. If it weren't for robotics, I couldn't even work. Humans depend on robots all the time. But then they were just thrown out as if they never even mattered. I would be very angry, too… People here think robots are bad but I'm not so sure." His eyes sought out Tenma's. "You understand, don't you, mister?"

Tenma sighed deeply. "I'm trying to learn to understand," he replied. "But I am not sure that I can. However, the conclusion I have made so far is this. Robots are neither good nor bad by default. However, they can become either depending on how they develop. Robots develop through human interaction, so it is logical that it's their interaction with humans that determine if they eventually become good or bad robots."

"Are you trying to say humans are the reason robots turn bad?!" Oda accused.

"What else would it be?" Tenma countered. "Robots are theoretically perfect when they are first turned on. They work without complaining and would never harm anyone. But then, with time, that sometimes changes as they absorb and learn through the observation of humans. Humans are the rogue factor in this thesis, not the robots."

"Says the man who blew up a building," Oda muttered.

"You're making my point for me," Tenma said. "I did that. A robot wouldn't act so irrationally. Unless that is what they had learned from the likes of me." He frowned lightly. "Seems to me that it is us humans who have neglected our responsibility towards robots."

"You mean you neglected your responsibility," Oda corrected him.

"Isn't that what I just said?" Tenma asked as he continued working on the leg. "Though don't put all the blame on me; I wasn't the one insisting upon building millions of robots. You've been using robots for your own comfort just as much as anyone else has."

Oda bit his lips in obvious irritation. Eventually, he got to his feet and wandered off.

"Heh. Damn, you really are something, Umataro," Elisa commented as she pulled out a cigarette. "Never thought that thick-head Oda would ever wake up and smell the rotten air." She held the package of cigarettes out to Tenma. "Smoke?"

Tenma didn't look at her but took the smoke, then Elisa found a lighter and lit it for him.

"Gotta admit I had my doubts about you when you first dropped down here, but you're for real, alright." she said.

Tenma inhaled the smoke and blew out a small cloud. "Giving me cigarettes won't win you any favors, you know," he said.

"Of course not. You play by your own rules don't you, Doctor?" Elisa laughed. "Still, probably wouldn't hurt to not be on your bad side. You really are something. I met others, you know. People who have done things – terrible things, even. Hell, I'm not saint myself. Most will try to run away from it, try to deny it and just look away, try to tell themselves they are a better person, trying to make it look nice and cover it up. But not you," she said. "You've looked it in the eye and you didn't look away. You know exactly what you've done; you know just how ugly it all is and won't even deny it. You will not be making one single excuse. I can respect that."

"Please, I don't see how excuses would solve anything," Tenma rolled his eyes. "What has been done can't be undone. That is not, simply put, how the world works."

Elisa breathed out a cloud of smoke. "Pretty much, yeah."

Timmy swallowed but then Rumiko drew him into a gentle embrace. "Not everything in the world is bad," she comforted the child. "Up above, there is sunlight and there is fresh air. Those things are beautiful." Timmy closed his eyes. "I want to see it again," he said. "The sky, the sun…"

Tenma was quiet as he exhaled a bit of smoke and focused on his task.

"I want to see my mom and dad," Timmy continued. "I miss them so much. Do you think they even think about me anymore?"

"If they are any kind of parent, they never stopped thinking about you for a single moment," Tenma informed him honestly. "You should go to sleep. Tomorrow you'll have to spend time getting used to your adjusted leg."

Timmy nodded as he reached for the pipe that served as his makeshift crutch, allowing him to pull himself back up. "Goodnight, Ms Elisa, Ms Rumiko," he said. "Goodnight, Mr Tenma."

"Goodnight, Timmy," Tenma said and Timmy hobbled away on his crutch and one good leg.

"I'll go make sure he's properly tugged in," Rumiko said, standing up.

"Well, I should probably head in, too," Elisa added. "Enjoy the smoke; those things are as precious as diamonds down here."

"More precious than diamonds, I would say. Diamonds are useless here," Tenma commented.

"You've got a good head on your shoulders. Don't stay up too late. If you're not up in time for breakfast, I will not be saving bread for you," Elisa stated as she headed off.

"Hmm, hmm," Tenma nodded mindlessly.

 

* * *

 

  

Tenma's one cigarette had long since burned out, and the fire had dwindled. He had no idea how many hours it had been, but honestly he didn't care; the leg was done and that was that for now.

Quietly, Tenma walked across the camp, being careful not to wake any of the sleeping people, until at last he found Timmy's spot, up by the wall where he was partially shielded. Sighing deeply, Tenma bent down and put the now-adjusted leg beside Timmy where he would find it first thing in the morning. Then Tenma stood, remaining still for a little while. "What is it, Voltak?" he finally asked.

The droid behind him zoomed in a bit, then finally a voice came from it, "Follow me."

Tenma turned to it, then shrugged as he followed the droid out of the camp. Slowly they neared the great balcony high above them, which led to the robot village, and a ladder was lowered. Tenma sighed deeply at the sight of the very tall ladder, but finally decided just to grab it and get it over with.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Tenma once again found himself on the platform, high above the junkyard. He had to gasp for breath after such a long climb, but finally managed to stand up.

"So, what have you come up with this time?" he asked.

"Creator, you know that I have not lied. My program does not allow me to lie. If you build me a new body, I really will let you go. I'll let everyone go," Voltak said.

"I know," Tenma replied. "But that doesn't change anything."

"Creator, I have watched you. But I do not understand. Why do you resist?"

"It's human nature to resist authority," Tenma replied simply. "Besides, all I have to do is wait. I've seen your body; it is on the verge of breakdown. You don't have that much time left."

"Is that your plan?" Voltak asked. "Wait for me to perish?"

"If that is what I have to do."

"I see," Voltak replied. "Please come this way."

The droid led Tenma back towards the robot village, where robots peered out at them. "Don't look away," Voltak saud. "I wish for you to see this. All these robots, we were built to serve, we were happy to serve, but then we were thrown away. We are those who have been replaced, thrown out and forgotten. Do not look away."

Tenma did as he was asked and looked up, seeing all the old robots. Some of them stood looking at him, others hid behind their worn out shelters.

"Humans created us, then they threw us away," Voltak informed him. "Do you see it?"

"There's no need to show me this, I already know," Tenma said quietly. "The furnace at the Ministry, where old robots are brought in and melted… That's always where my nightmares end. Most of my life, I didn't even realize what a horrible sight it was. Now I know," he said. "I can't even forget it."

"Is it burned into your mind?" Voltak asked. "That is a human expression, is it not?"

Tenma exhaled. "Yes it is," he said. "And it's surprisingly accurate."

Voltak was quiet for a while. "Please come. I wish to see you with my own visuals."

Tenma nodded and followed the droid into the cave where the true Voltak was stuck, his large body unable to move, frozen in position. His visor turned on and glanced down. "Creator," he spoke.

"Voltak," Tenma greeted him with a nod.

"Now you see me again, my true body. You still do not remember creating me?"

"No. I don't."

"I see. I am but a small footnote in your story," Voltak commented. "Perhaps it is me who is irrational. I always wanted for you to come. I desired to see you. But you never came. Now I know why. You had forgotten me."

Tenma looked up at him. "Yes."

"I see. My heart is made of metal and wires," Voltak said. "I have little regard for humans or life. I am indeed, as you say, just a machine. But you, Umataro Tenma, you, your heart must be made of ice."

Tenma didn't even respond to that, just start at Voltak blankly.

"I've observed you," Voltak continued and behind Tenma a TV screen turned on. Tenma glanced at the screen, only very mild interested as he saw footage of himself, undoubtedly taken by those droids that had been following him around.

"Ignoring people's desperate pleas for help," Voltak played footage of that man who had asked Tenma to build him a replica of his son, crying and begging though Tenma didn't respond. "No regret for the lives you may have ruined," he stated showing other images of Tenma coldly staring down people approaching him. "Even when your own wife died, you did not react. Didn't even take one day off work. You have discarded humans and robots alike your entire life the moment they didn't serve your purpose anymore. And you never had any regrets."

Tenma didn't reply, his eyes focused on the TV screen, images of himself dismissing, ignoring and even pushing away others.

"Even now, you show no shame," Voltak observed.

Tenma still didn't respond, but was just about to turn his head when Voltak said,

"Do not look away! I want you to see it."

Tenma glanced away but then looked back up at the screen.

"How can a man like you be the creator of the robot heart?" Voltak asked. "It is irrational."

"I agree," Tenma nodded. "I don't understand it myself."

"However, even though you wish the world to see you as heartless, you have a very consistent flaw."

Tenma's attention swiveled over to him.

"As I observed you, this has turned up again and again: the proof that you are indeed human, after all. Your flaw," Voltak said. "Observe."

Tenma turned back to the screen to see himself sitting calmly on a park bench. A little girl on an air-bike came zooming towards him. Tenma observed his recorded self's eyes widen in realisation, and he jumped up and raced towards the girl, pulling her off the bike before it crashed into the tree.

The image changed and Tenma saw himself lifting Uran up so she could pet the giraffe. Then shortly he saw that honorary member card standing beside the photos of Tobio and Astro. Then the picture changed once again, and Tenma saw himself standing at his apartment balcony with Astro hovering above him.

" _I don't want to see you get hurt,_ " Tenma's recording spoke in a quiet, almost vulnerable tone.

The image changed again and Tenma saw himself working on Timmy's leg, the child grinning at him. Then it was him sitting with Reno in his own living room.

" _I'm sorry to disturb you like this, Dr Tenma,_ " Reno smiled.

" _No, not at all,_ " Tenma replied in what was an outright kind voice. " _I appreciate the visit. Please, feel free to come by whenever you want._ "

" _Really?_ " Reno asked." _Thank you!_ "

" _Not at all,_ " Tenma smiled, and finally the screen shut down to black.

Tenma hissed as he clinched his fist. He could feel his body shaking and he knew he would have to work hard to suppress his anger.

"The flaw of Umataro Tenma. Who would ever have guessed?" Voltak asked. "Even he cannot resist the plea of a child." he

Tenma whirled around, sending Voltak a death glare.

"So, tell me, what is it about children that makes your heart so soft?"

Tenma huffed and turned away.

"Don't tell me it's because you lost your son," Voltak pressed. "Is it that single moment in time that made you so weak? So flawed?"

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!" Tenma shouted. "You are a garbage disposal unit! You will never know the burden of such a cursed thing as a heart," he hissed as he grabbed his chest. "You're right, though. This pain, it is indeed a major flaw in my own design. Heh, as long as it's there, I am unable to see clearly." He held a hand over his eyes. "Yet, I'm quite sure Ochanomizu would say that pain is what makes me a human." He burst into laughter, but stopped just as quickly as he'd started. "Why would a robot such as you ever want a human heart in the first place?" he asked. "All it gives you is pain and suffering. When hearts become involved, things stops making sense. Trust me on this." He spat on the ground. "You don't want it. You don't want this pain."

"You will build me a new body," Voltak said.

"I already told you!" Tenma shouted. "I will not do it! Nothing has changed!"

"Oh, but I think it has," Voltak said. "Now I finally know of it, the single flaw in your perfect design."

Tenma blinked just as a voice came from behind him.

"Mister."

Wide eyed, Tenma turned around and saw Timmy being suspended in the air by four droids, tears pouring down his face.

Suddenly Tenma's anger grew and he turned to Voltak. "THIS IS BULLSHIT!" he shouted. "You can't do this!"

"Finally," Voltak said. "You react."

"Listen to me!" Tenma huffed. "I will never build you a new body! It will not happen."

And then suddenly Timmy screamed. Tenma turned to him, easily spotting the pure electricity surging into him. "MISTER!" he cried. "MISTEEEEER!"

"STOP IT!" Tenma shouted.

"Build me a new body," Voltak demanded.

"NO!" Tenma shouted, only for the electricity in Timmy to intensify, inducing more cries of pain. Wide eyed, Tenma backed up.

"I will keep on increasing the electrical output until you agree," Voltak said.

And Timmy screamed again.

"STOP IT! If you continue like this you'll kill him!" Tenma exclaimed.

"No, if you don't agree to build me a body, _you_ will have been the one to kill him," Voltak replied.

Tenma gaped up at him, then, "FINE!" he spat. "I'LL BUILD YOU WHATEVER BODY YOU WANT! Just let him go! NOW!"

For a moment, Voltak was silent. "Good," he said. The electricity was cut off and the boy dropped to the floor.

"TIMMY!" Tenma shouted as he ran to him and helped him up. "Are you…?"

"Urgh., Timmy hissed and then glanced up. "Mister," he said with squinted eyes. "I'm sorry, I should have done better at fighting them off."

"It's okay," Tenma assured. "Just concentrate on your breathing, okay?"

Timmy nodded.

"Now, you will start construction on my new body," Voltak said.

Tenma groaned as he rubbed his forehead. "Fine," he finally acquiesced. "Bring me to your lab. Tell me precisely what it is you want. But then you have to let us go."

"That was our agreement," Voltak agreed. "How curious, you really are human, after all."

Tenma seethed dangerously. "Do yourself a favor and shut it."

"This way to your lab," Voltak guided him with one of his droids. "I shall continue watching you."

"What about Timmy?" Tenma asked.

"He shall accompany you," Voltak replied evenly. "If you do not build my body, you will no longer be shocked, he will."

Tenma clenched his jaw.

"I… I'm sorry," Timmy murmured.

"Don't say that," Tenma admonished. His tone was angry and his eyes sent death glares at Voltak. "Just come on. Follow me." He put a light hand on Timmy's back, helping him up and in the right direction. "I see you got your leg back on. Do you feel the difference?"

"Yes, it's much better now. I didn't trip at all, even when I tried to run away from those droids."

"That's good," Tenma nodded. "That's very good."


	15. Disruption

It was hard to see many positives in this situation. Tenma was now trapped inside the same old lab, and he was being monitored constantly. It was even worse than the apartment, with small droids floating around him, scanning his every little movement.

He was being forced to do the one thing he absolutely did not want to do. But if he as much as suggested a refusal, he was promptly reminded why he had no choice, as Timmy would scream out in pain from an electrical shock.

Sure, some would say there were certain advantages now. Voltak would always serve him meals preciously on time, and not just that boring porridge; there would be actual meat, rice and vegetables, with the explanation that for Tenma to be as efficient as possible his diet had to be diverse. Voltak had even gotten him hot coffee, as it had been proven that many humans would be around 5-15 percent more awake and efficient if they had consumed coffee.

And there were still set sleeping times where the lab would shut down automatically indicating that Tenma should sleep. The good thing about Voltak being a robot was that he was logical and knew what Tenma needed to be any good at his work.

It had been years since Tenma had been in a proper robotics lab, and just as long since he had last built a real robot. Yet, somehow, it didn't feel like any time had passed at all. As his finger glided over the wires and piece of metal, his mind didn't see them as such, but as parts connecting the larger body, each piece essential, each piece having its own life.

Tenma had to catch himself as he nearly got lost in the mere process of building something, and he had to remind himself that he did not enjoy this. He couldn't enjoy it. That would ruin it… But he did enjoy it. There was no greater feeling than to connect all the small pieces to create something that was much more than its parts.

Even if he didn't know yet what it was, Voltak had not given him the full schematics; only parts of it as he had finished parts. Though, as the skeleton of the surprisingly small robot came into being, an eerie feeling came over Tenma. It couldn't be… He couldn't be building… that.

Timmy was being good and rather obedient. It probably helped quite a bit that he too was very aware of the severity of the situation and did not want to disturb Tenma. Even if he clearly was very bored and had even started to build a collection of towers in the corner using the screws Tenma wasn't using.

"You are doing well, creator," Voltak praised. "You are indeed remarkable; other humans would not be able to build as fast or precisely as you. You are nearly as efficient as a robot."

Tenma smirked, grimly amused. "I'll take that as quite the compliment."

"The level of endorphins in your bloodstream has risen. You enjoy this procedure," Voltak remarked.

Tenma huffed in annoyance.

"Why did you stop building robots?" Voltak asked.

"You know that already."

"Yes, you expressed you no longer had control over the robots you had build," Voltak replied. "Why did you start building robots in the first place?"

"No idea," Tenma shrugged. "Aren't you asking an awful lot of unnecessary questions?"

"According to the database, you created your first robot when you were nine years old, and your first AI when you were eleven," Voltak continued. "The AI had the form of a teddy bear, which could understand human langue and learn, then respond to the need of the human which had spoken to it. This AI's learning ability is the foundation of the modern AI."

"You're talking like I don't know," Tenma rolled his eyes. "Even though it's me you're talking about."

"What happened to that teddy?"

"I threw it out; it was a failure," Tenma replied. "It had no mind of its own, only responded with what the owner wished to hear."

"I see, you discarded it when you grew tired of it. Like you discarded many others," Voltak replied. "It does indeed fit with your MO."

Tenma shrugged but didn't respond.

"You do not remember creating me, so I assume you do not remember why you created me either."

"Well, you are quite an old model so you must be from the beginning of my career," Tenma reasoned. "I imagine I built you as a test subject to further robotic technology."

"I am… an experiment?"

"You're a garbage disposal unit," Tenma corrected him. "Your function is to clean, isn't it?"

"Not for much longer," Voltak then reminded him. "You will make me into something else. I want to be something else."

"You want?" Tenma echoed. "Want is a very human thing, you know."

Voltak was silent for a while. "Do you like to sing creator?" he asked.

Tenma lifted an eyebrow. "Can't say I do."

"I wish I could sing," Voltak said. "Singing is beautiful. You like music, do you not, creator? I wish I could produce beautiful sounds like that. I can see the world through my droids, but the droids are not actually me. I wonder what it would feel like to fly myself. If I could fly, I would like to fly very high and follow the wind."

Tenma looked at the droid oddly.

"Creator?" Voltak asked.

"You really must be broken," Tenma commented.

"I suppose that must be correct," Voltak replied. "You will fix me creator."

"Not like I have any choice," Tenma muttered.

 

* * *

 

 

Tenma continued his work, and slowly a skeleton took form, something that was the seize of a human child. The longer Tenma worked, the harder was to deny it… But it was. And Tenma hissed as finally he lost control and threw the table aside. "NO!" he shouted.

"Mister!" Timmy exclaimed, frightened.

"Any other kind of body I will make you, Voltak! But not that one!" Tenma seethed, gesturing to the skeleton now lying on the floor.

"That is the body I desire," Voltak said. "You will build it for me!"

"I REFUSE!" Tenma shouted only for Timmy to scream in pain. "STOP IT!" Tenma grabbed one of the droids shocking Timmy, only to be electrocuted himself by the touch. He fell to the floor.

"MISTER!" Timmy yelled.

Tenma hissed. "Voltak, I can't say I understand your tactics here. That body is in the image of my son. Do you understand that?"

"Yes. I understand," Voltak replied.

"There will never be another one like it!" Tenma spat as he pushed himself up. "No matter how much you pester me, shock me and even shock Timmy. You're asking me something I cannot do!"

"You did it once before," Voltak pointed out.

"That time was special. It will never happen again!" Tenma exclaimed. "THIS IS MADNESS!" His black hair stood up, his eyes wide as he gasped "YOU WILL NEVER BE HIM!"

Voltak was quiet. "You are quite familiar with madness, are you not, creator?" he asked. "You know what happens now."

Slowly, Tenma turned his head. One of the flying droids hovered right next to Timmy, powering up.

Timmy swallowed. "M-Mister," he stammered as he backed away. "Help… HELP ME!"

Tenma didn't even think. He simply reacted, launching himself forward and grabbing the droid out of the air, then threw it at a console just as it released an electrical shock that overheated the console itself. Tenma covered Timmy with his own body as the console exploded.

"Creator," Voltak's voice sounded. "What have you done?"

Tenma huffed. "You're dealing with a madman. You knew that already." He stood, grabbing Timmy's hand. "Timmy, stand up."

Wide eyed, Timmy did as he was told.

"Time to put that leg to the test. RUN!" he instructed as he bolted to the now-short-circuited door and pulled it open, dragging Timmy with him. On the way out, he snatched up one item he had worked on earlier: something that looked almost like a backpack.

"Mister!" Timmy cried as he ran with Tenma. "Where are we going?!"

"Keep quiet, save your strength, and keep up!" Tenma demanded.

"You will not escape," Voltak called after them, his voice echoing from all sides. "You are vastly outnumbered."

Tenma hissed as he took a sharp turn. He caught sight of a power station and ran to it, pulling a lever and making sparks fly everywhere. Several robots began to walk in circles.

Timmy gaped.

"It won't last very long; I only jammed their directional sense for a bit, they'll all restart in a minute," Tenma stated as he pulled Timmy with him through the robot village itself, where confused robots were walking left and right. Tenma dragged Timmy into a corner and then took the backpack-like item and placed it on Timmy, starting to buckle it up

"What are you doing?" Timmy asked.

"I'm getting you out of here," Tenma replied. "See that," he asked, pointing up. Timmy followed the gesture to see an opening in the ceiling. "This is where Voltak sends his droids to collect things from outside. The tunnel is too small for an adult, but you should be able to just fit through."

Wide eyed, Timmy stared at Tenma. "What are you saying?"

"I'm getting you out of here," Tenma repeated, strapping him in tightly.

"But what about the others? What about you?"

"Don't think about us for now, just think about yourself. Get yourself away!"

Timmy gaped. "But, mister! I don't want to."

"Listen to me!" Tenma demanded. "You probably won't make it all the way out before robots start pursuing you. You must do your best to get outside of the area! There is a disruptive field around this whole area that jams any signals. However, the moment you get outside of that field, there'll be someone coming to help you! Just do everything in your power to get away from your pursuers!"

Timmy swallowed nervously. "How will the help know how to find me?"

Tenma smirked lightly. "They'll know, trust me," he assured. "Now go!" he exclaimed as he pressed a button on the backpack. The bag, a jetpack, lifted Timmy off the ground at an incredible speed, sending him hurtling upwards.

"MISTER!" Timmy screamed.

"GET HELP!" Tenma shouted back. "I'll try to buy you time! JUST GO!" He wasted no time, turning away and taking off in a sprint. Immediately, he was pursued by a number of robots.

"MISTEEEER!" Timmy called again as he disappeared into the darkness of the promised pipe. Wide eyed, Timmy looked up as the wind pressed towards his face. There was nothing but darkness as he was carried upwards and onwards.

Then, from below, came the droids. "You will not escape! Surrender now!"

"NO!" Timmy cried, trying to kick them away. "I'm going to get help!" He looked up as, suddenly, a small light neared him. Timmy's eyes widened further as the light grew bigger and bigger, the round hole coming closer and closer. And then, at an impossible speed, Timmy shot through into the world beyond.

For a moment, it was like the world stood still. The air felt like a blessing from the heavens, the sun was sharp and though it hurt his eyes a little bit, it was nothing in comparison to the wonder of the warmth. The sight, the smell, the feeling itself, it was beyond words; it was amazing.

Timmy didn't have much time to enjoy it. Though, as the robots came spawning out of the pipe after him. "I need to get out of here. I… HOW DO I CONTROL THIS THING?!" he squirmed. As if on cue, he change direction and shot forward. "WUAARGHHHH!"

"You will not escape!" the droids all shouted as they came flying after him, like a big swarm of bees.

More and more came, and they were gaining on him. "NO!" Timmy shouted. "STAY AWAY FROM ME! I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK!"

"You will be returned."

"PLEASE HELP!" Timmy cried as he zoomed forward, but the swarm was gaining on him. "He promised help would come! HEEEEELP!"

Just as suddenly, something zooming at the speed of light came flying towards him. It was too quick for Timmy to see, so he shut his eyes in terror. Then, before he could even process the change, he was being grabbed and pulled away, away from the chasing robots.

"Are you okay?" a concerned voice asked.

Timmy blinked open his eyes, and turned his head to see who it was that had grabbed him. "ASTRO!" he gaped. "You… YOU'RE ASTRO!"

The robot holding him smiled warmly. "Yup, I am!" he said. "Hold on, I'm getting you away from here!" Astro picked up speed, leaving all the other robots behind.

"Whoa!" Timmy gasped as he saw the area of the junkyard and all the robots disappear behind them.

"Brace yourself, we are going to land," Astro warned him as he slowed down, then finally descended and put Timmy down on the top of a hill before landing beside him. "Sorry about that; it's just that whatever is placed on your leg really hurts my ear."

"What?" Timmy asked.

"There's some kind of high-pitched frequency coming from your leg. Only advanced robots like myself would be able to pick it up," Astro said. "Urhm, is it okay if I have a look?"

Timmy nodded. "Sure."

"Thanks," Astro smiled as he sat down on his knee and rolled up the pant leg to reveal the prosthetic. "A prosthetic? That's cool!" he beamed then reached down. "There it is!" he grinned as he pulled out a little hidden sphere, then turned it around and pressed a button. "That's much better," he exhaled, relieved though then he halted, holding up the sphere. "Where did you get this?"

"Honestly, I didn't even know I had it."

Astro frowned slightly. "Do you have any idea who put it there?"

"I guess it must have been Mr Tenma," Timmy supposed. "He's the last one who had his hands on my leg. He fixed it for me."

Astro gaped. "Did... Did you just say Tenma?"

"Uhuh," Timmy nodded. "His name is Dr Umataro Tenma. Do you know him?"

"Of course I do he… Do you know where he is?" he asked. "Timmy, please? Do you know if he's okay?"

Timmy glanced down. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "He helped me escape; he put this backpack on me." He pulled the jetpack off. "Told me to get out of there, that help would arrive once I left the disruptive field. He bought me time to get out. That's the last I saw of him. Astro!" he exclaimed, looking up. "You have to save him!" he said. "And the others, too! They're all trapped underground!"

"Of course I'll save them!" Astro exclaimed. "Although, first, I'd better get you somewhere safe." He picked up Timmy. "Maybe you can tell me everything that happened while we fly to the city?"

Timmy nodded. "Of course… You'll really save them?" he asked. "You promise?"

"Of course! That's what I do," Astro promised. "And my father is there. I have to save him."

"Your father?" Timmy asked then his eyes widened. "Wait a minute, Mr Tenma!" he exclaimed. "You're that son he spoke about, aren't you? He's your father isn't he?"

"He sure is," Astro smiled.

Timmy's eyes were nearly falling out of his skull. "That is so cool," he breathed. "That makes me so happy! Now I know you'll rescue him for sure!"

"You bet I will!" Astro said. "Just tell me everything you know."

"Okay, here goes," he started on his long story, about how he had been thrown down into the junkyard with the other humans, how they had scavenged robot parts to exchange for food, how Tenma had appeared with them and what had happened afterwards.

Astro never interrupted, listening intensely as he carried Timmy, deep in thought.

 

* * *

 

 

Meanwhile, Tenma had been caught. Though that wasn't too surprising given that he had nowhere to run. He was brought to his knees by the droids and gasped for air.

"Your struggle is pointless. This will change nothing," Voltak said.

Tenma smirked and was promptly beaten over the head by a droid.

"The child will be retrieved. If not that child, I'll simply find another."

"Yes, you're right," Tenma sighed deeply and looked up. His hair fell over his eyes. "I give up."

"You… give up?" Voltak echoed. "Explain."

"I'm going to build you the body you want," Tenma elaborated. "However, this time I'm going to do it right. I need to make a circuit compatible with the one you've got. I will need to examine your real body."

Voltak was quiet for a moment before, "Understood. Follow my droids; they will lead you to my true body."

Tenma nodded. "Good good, wouldn't want more unnecessary distractions would we?"


	16. Free

Gaping, Astro listened to Timmy's entire story. He learned about the underground robot junkyard and the people trapped there, about the robot village and the robots that had been thrown away, about Voltak and his desire for a new body, how he had kidnapped Tenma to get what he wanted, and how it had come to light that Tenma was the one who had build Voltak in the first place.

With Astro's speed it didn't take long to reach Metro City, and he entered the police station with Timmy.

"Detective, I know where my father is!" Astro immediately told the police officers. "There are other people there too; they have all been kidnapped. I will put the coordinates into your computer." He opened his chest and pulled out a cable to put into the computer for a transfer.

Gumshoe nodded. "I'll imagine you're going to rescue your father right away. We'll follow as quickly as we can."

"Thank you!" Astro beamed. "Take good care of Timmy; he was taken two years ago, his parents must be really worried!"

"Oh god, you poor dear!" a police woman said. "Timmy was it? Please come with me, I'll find your parents right away! Can I get you something? How do you like hot chocolate?"

"Hot chocolate?!" Timmy gaped. "I don't remember the last time I had anything like that!"

The police woman melted on the spot. "I'll go get you some right away."

"Thank you, Miss!" Timmy beamed.

Satisfied, Astro nodded. "I'm going. I'll see you later, detective!" And without further adieu, he ran out the door and turned on his jets to fly back as fast as he could.

It felt like it had been forever since his father had been taken. Astro had done his best to look, he had kept scanning areas and the police as well had done their bit, but for months there had been no sign of Tenma. And then, suddenly, his father had sent a message for him!

"Don't worry, father!" Astro said. "I'm coming!"

 

* * *

 

There Tenma was, standing in front of the enormous and very broken body of Voltak.

"You will not resist me anymore?" Voltak asked.

"No," Tenma replied. "I will build you the body you want. You want a body like Astro's."

"Yes," Voltak said. "I observed you, I've seen how you always looked over him, how he was such a big part of your life. If I am like him, then maybe you will remember me."

"You poor thing," Tenma looked at Voltak with genuinely pained eyes. "You poor child. Yet another son I've neglected. I really must be the most horrible parent who ever lived."

"Creator," Voltak spoke. "When you have built me a new body, will you care for me at all? Will I be special? Like him?"

"Yes," Tenma said gently, stepping towards him. "You will be special. How does that make you feel?"

"It makes me feel..." Voltak hesitated, "happy."

 

* * *

 

 

Astro burst through the ceiling to the junkyard and gaped at the humans staring up at him. Quickly, he flew down and landed in front of them.

"Is Dr Tenma here?" he asked. "Please! I need to find him."

They stared at him with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but Dr Tenma just disappeared one night," Elisa replied.

"WHAT?!"

"There aren't many places he could have gone, though. He's probably up there in the robot village," Elisa pointed up towards the platform.

Astro nodded. "Thank you. Listen, the police will be here very soon and pick you all up. If you have any belongings, get them together. They'll be here any minute." He took to the sky again, ignoring the shock he had induced. "Hold on, father. I'm coming."

 

* * *

 

 

Gently Tenma pried open the lid on the back of Voltak's head, revealing a number of wires and circuits, as well as a signature on his electronic brain. Tenma's signature. Tenma touched it lightly.

"You still do not remember?" Voltak asked.

"I'm sorry," Tenma replied. "Back then I was much more ignorant."

"You say you have changed?"

"Yes," Tenma nodded. "And so have you, Voltak. You see, hearts are not a constant; they develop over time as we learn and grow. Your heart, as well, slowly developed over time, through your experiences. You developed your own wants and needs as your heart grew."

"A heart?" Voltak asked. "I have a heart."

"Yes, you do," Tenma nodded. "It is quite remarkable indeed. I am very impressed with you."

"You are?"

"Yes," Tenma said gently. "You have far exceeded your original programming. I am proud of you."

Voltak was silent. Yet the silence itself seemed to be filled with emotions. Very strong emotions, especially considering it came from a robot.

 

* * *

 

 

"Do you know where my father is?" Astro asked the robots in the village. "Dr Tenma?"

"Yes, he's with Voltak," an old maid robot informed him. "He finally agreed to build Voltak the body he wanted."

"What?"

"He's been here for months for that purpose," the robot continued. "Finally, he seems to have come around. I am happy for Voltak."

Astro gaped. "There's no way my father gave in at this moment! He had just managed to send a message to me! He knew I would be coming. All he had to do was to sit tight for a little bit longer! Why is he...?" His eyes widened. "Oh no… Please don't."

Confused, the robots looked at him. "What is it?"

"I… I have to stop him!" Astro exclaimed. "He can't. NO! FATHER! DON'T, FATHER!" he shouted as he took off through the village. "DON'T DO IT! DON'T TO IT, FATHER!" He burst through the heavy doors and then came to a hasty stop at the sight that greeted him.

There, in front of him, was a massive robot sitting up against the wall, limp as a rag doll. In front of the big robot sat a much smaller figure, crouched holding his legs in his arms as his hair obscuring his face.

Wide eyed, Astro looked at the big robot behind him. There were no energy readings coming from it. It was stone cold.

"You…. You killed him," Astro gasped.

Tenma didn't respond. It was impossible to say what expression he wore, as it was hidden in shadow. Though that was when Astro saw the drops of water falling from Tenma's chin and down to the floor. A stream of tears.

"Father," Astro breathed, stepping closer, but then didn't know what to say.

Tenma swallowed, then wiped his eyes with his sleeve, though that didn't stop them from coming. "Do you know something, Astro?"

Astro quietly shook his head.

"The first time I held Tobio, he was so small. So tiny," Tenma said. "He was small, wrinkly, pink, rather ugly and utterly defenseless. If I didn't take care of him, if I didn't make sure he stayed warm and fed him his bottles, he would die. I realized then that Tobio was my responsibility. I was the one who had put him into this world, I was the reason he would have to go through life and witness all its cruelty. He was my responsibility."

Astro swallowed and took a step towards Tenma but halted as Tenma folded into himself.

"How many do you think there are, Astro?" he asked.

"I... I don't understand."

"Tobio tried to tell me, but I didn't listen," Tenma said. "Robots, they are not just machines, they are alive. How many robots do you think I put into this world without even thinking about it? How many lives of misery have I created? They are my responsibility, aren't they, Astro? How many sons and daughters have I failed?"

Astro closed his eyes, and walked over to Tenma, finally sitting down beside him. He looked up at him and saw the tears quietly rolling from his eyes.

"I'm sorry, father," Astro said. "I know you did what you had to do."

Tenma looked down. "He's not dead," he finally said.

"What?" Astro's gaze shot up to him. "But..."

"That body of his was old and broken, his mind, however, entirely intact. All I did was a simple transfer. It's right here." He held up a little chip and Astro gaped. "All of his memories, his personality, his dreams and even his heart. It is just sleeping. It's right here."

Astro stared at it with wide eyes for a moment before turning his attention to Tenma. "What do you intend to do with that?"

Tenma was quiet for a while. "I don't know," he admitted.

"I see," he sighed. "I'm sorry, father."

"For what?" Tenma blinked.

"I… I let them take you," Astro said sadly. "I should have known better. I'm the world's best robot but they took you when I wasn't looking. I was so worried!" he exclaimed, turning to Tenma. "I… I'm so glad you're okay!" He sniffed, grabbing onto Tenma's coat. "I missed you so much!"

Tenma blinked then he smiled lightly, putting a hand on Astro's back. "I missed you too, Astro," he assured. "I'm sorry for leaving you in suspense like that. If I had figured out a way to contact you sooner, I would have."

"It's okay," Astro smiled. "I'm glad I found you in the end. Let's get out of here."

Tenma nodded, putting an arm around Astro's shoulder and standing up. "I would appreciate it."

Astro nodded as he turned on his thrusters, and, together with Tenma, rose up into the air. Soon, for the first time in what felt like forever, Tenma took in the sunlight and fresh air.

It didn't take long for Astro to find the police cars that had arrived and were in the process of retrieving the people from underground, all of whom had to squint their eyes when they emerged but were beaming happily.

Tenma groaned. There were black spots in front of his eyes and suddenly exhaustion washed over him. He nearly fell, and probably would have if Astro hadn't grabbed him.

"Father, be careful!"

"I'm sorry," Tenma yawned, just as they were approached by a certain detective.

"So, Astro found you at last," Gumshoe stated.

Tenma nodded. "Indeed."

"Dr Tenma, I do regret to inform you this, but I will have to take you to the police station. You did break your parole," Gumshoe said.

"I understand," Tenma nodded. "It's okay."

"I'm sure it'll just be a formality given the circumstances," Gumshoe assured him. "Oh, and there's a call for you."

"Huh?" Tenma asked but accepted the phone passed to him. Three very familiar figures grinned up at him from the hologram: Ochanomizu, Uran, and Reno.

"It's true!" Uran beamed. "Astro found you! He really did!"

"Thank god!" Ochanomizu exhaled deeply. "Have you any idea how worried we've all been?"

Tenma smiled, a little amused. "I'm sorry," he said. "It was not my intention to be away for so long."

"Wow, Dr Tenma, you look awful!" Reno gaped. "Sir, you need to rest!"

Tenma nodded. "I think I could sleep for days," he admitted honestly.

"Well then, we won't keep you anymore," Ochanomizu smiled. "Although, there's someone else who wishes to talk to you."

Tenma groaned slightly. "Can you tell them to make it quick?" he asked. "I'm sorry, but I'm just… really tried."

"I understand," Ochanomizu said and then the image changed. This time it was a red haired woman that Tenma didn't know, as well as a brown haired man and, in between them, a certain red haired boy who grinned. The man and woman looked like they were nearly dissolving into tears.

"Mister! You're safe!" Timmy grinned at him. "Thank god. Look, it's my mom and dad! The police had their phone number and everything."

"THANK YOU SO MUCH!" the woman cried, tears falling everywhere. "I can't ever express what this means to us. I... I…" she burst into all-out sobbing.

The man as well was trying to dry his tears away with his sleeve, but it didn't help anything as the tears kept coming. "If there's anything we can ever do," the man said, sniffing. "We can never thank you enough. Thank you for bringing our son back! You'll never know what it means to us."

Tenma smiled lightly. "Actually, I think I have a pretty good idea what it means to you," he said. "You don't have to do anything for me, just take good care of Timmy. He's a good kid, and very bright. Give him all the good things he deserves."

"We will!" the woman cried loudly. "Thank you!"

Tenma gave them one last smile before pushing the button to turn off the device and heaving a sigh.

"Dr Tenma, if you want you can rest in the car," Gumshoe said gesturing to the police car behind him. "I'll be a bit before we can drive back to Metro City."

"Thank you, I appreciate it," Tenma yawned, then with Astro's help made his way to the police car and sat down in the back seat, groaning deeply as he leaned his head backwards.

Astro crawled into with him and for a moment sat beside him as Tenma took out the memory chip and stared at it.

"Is he really sleeping inside of that chip?" Astro asked. "In comparison to his body, it's so small."

"Robotics technology has come a long way since Voltak was made," Tenma replied. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and gently wrapped the memory chip in it so it wouldn't be damaged, then placed it in his pocket. "Astro, please excuse me. I'm afraid middle aged human bodies have their limits."

"You need to sleep. In understand," Astro assured. "Is it okay if I stay with you?"

Tenma nodded. "I would appreciate it."

Astro smiled lightly, then moved closer to Tenma and leaned on him, resting his head on Tenma's chest and allowing Tenma to wrap and arm around him.

Not long after, when Gumshoe checked on them, Tenma was asleep and Astro looked like he had put himself into resting mode.

Amused, Gumshoe shook his head. "Don't think this will make me go soft on you," he said, but closed the door very quietly so as not to disturb them. Not that it seemed to be needed.  
Tenma didn't even wake up during the entire trip back to Metro City, and Astro didn't make a move either. Tenma, like that, looked very peaceful.


	17. His responsibility

"Four months you have been a prisoner at the junkyard underground. That must have been quite a traumatic exsperience. Especially considering the state you were already in," Yukata commented. "How do you feel Dr Tenma?"

Tenma was back in the old apartment. He had opened up the windows for the day, allowing the fresh air and sunshine to enter, and was sitting quite comfortably on the couch with Yukata oppsite him in a chair. Between them there was his coffee table with freshly made tea and even cookies to celebrate the occasion. Astro was at school; it was just the two of them.

Tenma closed his eyes. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "I am quite relieved to be out of there. I never even realized how much I missed the fresh air."

"It must be quite a relief that they won't be pressing any further charges against you," Yukata said. "I even hear the mayor is considering offering you a medal of honor."

Amused, Tenma shook his head. Yukata was silent, waiting for his response.

"I didn't do anything," Tenma finally said. "I don't know why he would ever give such a thing to me."

"Well, I suppose that's up to him," Yukata replied. "In any case, your parole is now over. You can go wherever you want. Do you have any plans?"

"I'm meeting Astro later."

"Oh?" Yukata asked. "Where will you be going?"

"Well, first we'll be going to the graveyard," Tenma said and Yukata blinked. "We are going to place some flowers on Tobio's grave. And Hoshie's. I suppose I've been a rather neglectful husband. She deserves flowers, at least."

"I see." Yukata blinked. "You haven't visited her grave for a long time, have you? What made you change your mind?"

"Well," Tenma hesitated. "I guess that… Well. I miss her."

Stunned, Yukata stared at him. The entire time she had been his psychiatrist, he had refused to ever talk about his late wife, and now he was so calm and quiet about it. He even looked rather sad.

"Then once we've visited the graveyard, I thought I would take Astro to the pond across town," Tenma continued. "It has been a long time since I was there last. Tobio loved to feed the ducks. I wonder if Astro would enjoy it too."

"I'm sure he will," Yukata smiled warmly. "Most children love to feed ducks. That does sound like a wonderful idea."

Tenma smiled lightly.

"I hear all the robots who lived in the village have been rounded up," Yukata continued. "And they will likely be tried for crimes against humans."

Tenma closed his eyes.

"That upsets you?"

Tenma swallowed. "What happened… It's not their fault," he said. "They were thrown away and just did what they had to do to survive. The easy solution would be to dismantle them, but I don't see how they deserve it. They only wanted to live."

Yukata looked at Tenma. "You do realize you're not entirely powerless, right?" she asked. "Everyone's eyes are on you. What you say will be taken into consideration."

Tenma sighed deeply as he looked down at his teacup. "I don't know," he said. "I'm not very good with cameras. And Professor Ochanomizu would probably be much better at saying these things than me. The man always had such a soft heart and such an idealistic worldview."

"Well, what you do is up to you now," Yukata said in a surprisingly gentle voice. "You are free now, to live your life in whatever way you choose."

"I'm still so unsure." he admitted. "What am I even supposed to do? I can't just sit here every single day."

"I'm glad you see it that way," Yukata said. "Take it slow, Dr Tenma. Find out what you wish to do in your own time."

Tenma frowned deeply. "It seems to me that the things I do have far bigger consequences than I could ever have imagined," he commented. "Whereever I go, it's like there's something I know originated from me."

"How does that make you feel?"

"Well… I…" Tenma swallowed then closed his eyes. "This is confidential, right? No one will ever hear this."

Yukata smirked, amused. "Yes indeed, no one but me. And I won't tell anyone at all."

"It's scary," Tenma admitted. "Everything I do will have consequences, either for better or worse. It's a very scary thought."

"It's okay to be scared," Yukata assured him. "Life is scary; it is very unpredictable and rarely will it go the way people think it will. Listen to me, just take it one day at the time. Go to the graveyard with Astro, then go to the pond and feed the ducks. Enjoy the moment, I'm sure you'll figure out what to do in your own time."

"Yes."

"And if you need anything, my phone is open to you," Yukata added. "I'm here to help you."

"Thank you," Tenma nodded.

 

* * *

 

 

As promised, Tenma and Astro met up not too far from the graveyard. Together, they picked out the flowers. Astro had fallen for some bright red tulips, and with much amusement Tenma noted that they were the same color as Astro's boots.

As they walked across the graveyard, Astro held Tenma's hand and when they finally reached the two graves lying beside each other, he arranged the flowers for them.

"Hello, Tobio, hello Mrs. Tenma," Astro greeted the stones. "I hope this isn't too weird for you, since we've never actually met. I really wish we had, though Tobio, I'm your little brother, isn't it cool? Listen, I understand you're not able to look after father anymore. But don't worry, I'll do it for you," he smiled. "Father sure has been through a lot, but, things are going to be fine. He says so himself." He bowed respectfully for them. "Thank you for seeing me. I'll come visit again soon." Then,standing up straight, he turned to Tenma, "I'm going for a walk. I'll be by the oak tree."

Tenma smiled after the robot who walked respectfully away before turning back to the gravestones. "Hello, Hoshie. Hello, Tobio," he said quietly. "It really is a shame neither of you can meet Astro. I'm sure you both would like him very much. I miss you a lot." He put a hand on the gravestone with Hoshie's name on it. "I feel so lost without you two," he admitted. "I don't know which direction to go from here. Hoshie, listen I erh." he hesitated. "When we were together, I didn't really get the concept of love. I still don't entirely to be honest, being tied to one person more than another. People are people right? Most of them are just annoying and dumb, yet... I guess what i'm trying to say is that I. I think I really did love you, when you were with me. I actually think I were happy, so. Here it is, you wanted me to say it in a way so I meant it. I... I love you Hoshie." he closed his eyes. "Without you, I would never have known Tobio or Astro, I wouldn't have known any of these feelings, my heart would never have developed to this exstent. Tobio, you tried me to tell about the robots. I didn't listen, and I continued denying. I'm sorry, Tobio. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I'll try to do my best to act upon what you taught me. I hope that, one day, I can do something that would have made you proud. You were right. Robots... they are alive, and if we let them, they will be our friends. You were right." He reached into his pocket and from it found a stuffed bunny, which he placed in front of Tobio's headstone. Then he stood, and patted the headstone. "Happy birthday, Tobio," he said, then turned away and wiped his tears with his hands.

He met Astro by the oak tree as promised. Astro didn't ask about the tears but took Tenma's hand and walked with him down the street towards the pond. "Next time we go to the pond, we should bring Uran too," he said. "She loves feeding ducks!"

"I bet she does," Tenma smiled. "Indeed, let's take her one of these day."

"Haha! YES!"

 

* * *

 

 

Astro and Tenma stayed out for most of the day, only heading home when the sun began to set. They didn't take a cab or car, instead just walking down the streets. That is, until they reached the apartment building and spotted a man standing in front of the entrance.

Tenma's eyes widened in recognition. It was the man from the zoo who had tried to hire him to build a robot replica of his own son. Immediately, Tenma turned away, trying to run for it.

"Dr Tenma!" the man called out to him. "Please, I don't mean any harm. I just want to apologise to you."

That made Tenma stop and, slowly, he turned his head. The man looked down, taking off his hat and holding it over his chest.

" I was very angry at you for a while," he said. "I was even considering kidnapping you myself before someone else beat me to the punch. However, finally my wife beat some sense into me and I realized you were right. William is gone, he can't ever be replaced, and I won't be disgracing his memory like that anymore. I will take care of my two daughters instead. I'm sorry, Dr. Tenma. I wasn't thinking clearly."

Tenma stared at him for a while, then sighed as he shook his head. "Grief does weird things to humans," he replied. "I assure you, there is nothing to forgive."

"If there is anything I can do," the man said, "to make it up to you... I must really have embarrassed you terribly that day."

"You've done enough," Tenma assured. "Go home to your family."

"Thank you, Dr. Tenma. It's been an honor to meet you." The man nodded and was finally on his way.

Astro stared after him. "I sure am glad that man is okay now.".

"Well, he's not entirely okay, but he probably will be."

"Oh, that reminds me, I was supposed to give this to you," Astro smiled. He opened his chest and found a pink postcard, which he then handed to Tenma.

Tenma blinked as he took it. "What's this?"

"It's from Emily!" Astro grinned.

Confused, Tenma looked down at Astro.

"That girl you saved from the crashing air-bike," Astro elaborated. "She was wondering if you had gotten any of her letters, then when I told her you had thrown out all letters you had ever gotten she got kind of upset, so she gave this to me to give to you directly. She just wanted to say thanks for saving her!"

"I see," Tenma smiled lightly, holding the letter. "Well, I'd better take my time to read it then." He put it securely in his pocket.

 

* * *

 

 

The days went by, mostly without incident. Astro sometimes spent his nights with Tenma in his apartment, and sometimes with Ochanomizu, Uran, and Reno at the institute. Tenma and Ochanomizu had both agreed that as long as Astro kept up with school and finished his homework on time, it was okay for him to be with either to his own liking.

Besides, as Ochanomizu had pointed out, it was impossible to actually tell Astro what to do or not do, which was why Ochanomizu had allowed Astro to stay with Tenma in the first place in spite of his own worry. It would have been a foolish to attempt to tell Astro no back then.

Now that Tenma was free to do as he wanted, he often took long walks around the city, and even went to music bars where he could listen to life music while enjoying a drink.

He took both Reno and Astro to an exhibition on the history of technology, which had excited both the teen and the robot. Uran had come with them to the duck pond as promised, and she had been very happy. Things were peaceful.

Then, one lovely summer day at around noon, Ochanomizu had given himself the time to enjoy himself a little bit as stood outside of the Ministry of Science, enjoying the air and the blue sky. However, he got quite the shock as a figure came walking towards him.

Ochanomizu gaped. He honestly hadn't thought he would ever see this man at this place again. "Tenma," he greeted, surprised.

"Hello, Ochanomizu," Tenma returned.

"Well. This is a surprise," he admitted. "Can I help you with something?"

"Actually," Tenma hesitated, "I have a favor to ask you. It's a pretty big favor, and I won't blame you for a second if you deny my request."

"What is it?" he asked, stunned.

"Well," Tenma produced a small box from his pocket. It looked almost like a jewellery box but it was clearly sturdier than that. He opened it up to reveal what looked like a memory chip. "I would also like to ask your discretion, regardless of your answer."

Ochanomizu looked from the memory chip to Tenma.

 

* * *

 

 

"Professor!" Astro called as he came running up the pathway to the Ministry. "Professor!"

"Astro!" Ochanomizu greeted him as he met him in the opening. "Is everything okay?"

"Of course it is," Astro said. "Is father here? I swear I saw his car parked in the parking lot!"

"Oh, yes. Tenma is indeed here," Ochanomizu nodded.

"Really?" Astro asked. "Where is he?"

"In robotics lab fifty-three," Ochanomizu informed him. "He asked if he could borrow it. Also he asked not to be disturbed."

"Oh," Astro blinked. "Wait, he's inside a robotics lab?! He's building a robot?!"

"I'm not sure, to be honest," Ochanomizu admitted. "He had this memory chip with him, and he said he had a responsibility to protect that life which he held in his hand. I… I did it again; the way he looked at me, I couldn't say no to him!"

"A memory chip?" Astro asked and his eyes widened. He turned towards the hallway that led to the robotic labs, wondering.

Astro didn't go in to check on his father, but dutifully waited for him for the rest of the day. Soon Uran and Reno joined him, both equally surprised to hear that Tenma was borrowing a lab.

They didn't hear anything from Tenma, though; not as the day passed by and the sun went down. Finally, late in the evening, the door to the lab opened up, and Tenma mopped his sweaty forehead with a handkerchief.

Immediately, Astro ran to him. "Father!"

"Ah, hello, Astro," Tenma smiled lightly. "I hope you haven't been waiting for me all day."

"Well, I've been curious," Astro said, trying to glance behind Tenma into the lab, but all he could see were the dim lights. "Are you finished with whatever you're doing?"

At that, Tenma laughed out loud. "Hardly," he said. "This is going to take more time than just one day. I'm sorry, Astro, I don't think we'll be able to spend as much time together for a little while."

"That's okay," Astro blinked. "Just… Do what ever you need to do."

From that day on, Tenma came to the Ministry every morning. He came early, went into the lab he had claimed, and didn't exit again before late evening.

The curiosity between Astro, Uran, and Reno grew and grew. None of them had any idea what he was doing.

Then, finally, one day Tenma approached Astro. "Astro, I'm going to be finished this afternoon. Would you come meet me at the lab? I would like you to see it."

Astro blinked at him. "Of course. Can Uran, Reno, and Ochanomizu come too?"

Tenma smirked, amused. "I doubt I would be able to keep them away."

 

* * *

 

 

And so it was that that afternoon, Astro, Uran, Reno, and Ochanomizu sat outside the lab. Everyone was looking at the door in sheer anticipation. What on earth could Tenma have been up to? The tension was so thick you could have cut it with a knife.

Then, finally, after what seemed like forever, the door opened and out stepped Tenma, holding something in his hands.

"Father!" Astro exclaimed, standing up.

The others joined him with wide eyes.

Tenma smiled lightly. "It's don,." he said, showing them the object in his hands.

Uran gasped deeply at the sight. "Uncle Tenma," she breathed. "It's beautiful!"

There, in Tenma's hands, was an elegant and sophisticated creature. It had long feathers made of shining blue metal, with elegant red markings on the feather tips. Its neck was long and elegant, the beak made of what looked like a golden metal. It was a beautiful robot bird, though right now it seemed like it was merely sleeping.

"Wow," Reno blinked. "The work on that must have been so delicate!"

Astro gaped. "Is that… Voltak?"

Tenma nodded. "He is still asleep though. Uran, perhaps you would like to be the one to wake him up?"

Uran gaped. "Can I?"

"Yes, here let me show you," Tenma nodded as he held the bird out towards Uran. "Do you see that feather on its neck that seems to stand a little taller than the rest? Under it is a button. Can I ask you to press it for me?"

Uran gasped and then grinned as she gently moved the feather aside to reveal the promised tiny button, which she pressed. She then stepped back, as did Astro and Reno. They all watched the robot bird with anticipation.

Then, finally, the birds eyes slowly opened to reveal what looked like two black gems shining brilliantly. Uran gaped as slowly the bird lifted itself.

"Where...?" a gentle, soft voice fitting the bird began. "Where am I?"

Uran grinned. "You're at the Ministry of Science!"

Confused, the bird looked at Uran then turned around and gasped at the sight of Tenma. "Creator!" it exclaimed. "You're huge!"

"No he's not," Astro chuckled. "You're just small."

That made the bird turn to Astro. "Small? But…. Creator. What have you done to me?"

"I made you a body," Tenma said. "This body was made for you and you alone. It is unique."

"I am… unique?" the bird echoed and Tenma nodded, walking to the table and putting the bird down. He reached into his bag, finding a mirror, and put it down in front of the bird.

The bird gasped. "Is that… me?"

"Do you like it?" Astro asked. "Father spend a really long time making it!"

"It… It's...It's wonderful!" he said in a broken voice. "I didn't even realize! This is what I desired!"

Tenma smiled warmly. "That's good," he said. "You're free now to live your own life and develop your heart. You can fly wherever you want."

"I can… fly?"

"Of course you can; you're a bird!" Uran cheered. "Though Voltak doesn't fit at all to that body. You need a new name!"

"A new… name?"

"What do you think, father? What should we call him?" Astro asked.

"I never was good with names," Tenma admitted, crossing his arms.

"Uh, I know!" Uran reached up a hand.

"Creator," the bird asked pathetically, "can't you give me a name?" His voice was pleading, nearly desperate.

"I will give you a name, just let me think," Tenma frowned. "Ah! Phenias! Derived from the magnificent bird the phoenix who rises from the ashes and brings new life. I will call you Phenias!"

"It's perfect!" Phenias exclaimed, gladly jumping up and down on the spot. "Thank you, creator!"

Astro smiled, leaning his elbows on the table. "So now you can go out and see the world."

"Not so fast," Tenma said and the all turned to him. "I need to check how his flight is. We don't want him to fall out of the air! Phenias, could I ask you to stay nearby for a while? Just a few days so that if anything happens I can fix you up."

"You… You'll do that?" Phenias asked.

"Of course, you're mine, after all. You're my responsibility," Tenma said. "I was also wondering if you would do me a favor."

"A favor?" Phenias repeated. "What kind of favor?".

"You see, robot hearts..." Tenma began. "They're not something robots just have the moment they are born; they are developed as the robot experiences things. As a robot starts to question what it sees and experiences, that is when a robot heart is created, but then it'll continue to develop and grow. I'm interested in finding out more," he said. "So when you have been out there, experiencing and absorbing, developing your heart further, could you come back once in a while and tell me about it?"

Phenias gaped. "You… You really mean that?" he asked. "Really?"

Tenma nodded. "Yes. And if you ever need a place to rest from your travels, my home is open to you."

Phenias looked at him. It was clear that if he had been a human he would have been a well of pure tears. "Creator," he said brokenly.

Tenma smiled, amused, and lifted Phenias into his arms. "Let's get outside and test those wings, shall we?"

 

* * *

 

 

They went out into the garden next to the Ministry. Phenias was standing on Tenma's arm.

"Okay listen, your flying functions are different than the droids'," Tenma began. "You can't just go in whatever direction, you must glide on the wind. Of course, you have some boosters that'll enable you to pick up speed if an emergency happens, but that will also drain your energy quite a bit. Your body is not very big, so the energy stored in you isn't much. However, if you learn how to use the wind and glide on it, you will be able to fly using practically no energy whatsoever."

Phenias nodded. "I understand," he said.

"Okay, now spread out your wings," Tenma said, raising up his arm with Phenias on it. Phenias did as he was instructed. "Get ready to set off." Phenias bent his legs. "NOW FLY!" Tenma shouted and Phenias set off, and indeed he did fly, up into the air.

"WHOAAAA!" Uran exclaimed. "Astro! Astro, look! He's flying!"

"He sure is!" Astro laughed happily.

"Wow, the airodynamics in that design are nearly perfect!" Reno gaped. "The balance in the air and without any jets."

"Stop being a nerd, Reno. Come on!" Uran chided, and all three children laughed as they ran after the bird, dancing in circles and playing together.

Amused, Tenma and Ochanomizu stood back, observing both the children and the beautiful bird that now shone with its blue metallic color as it made a somersault in the air, just to show off.

"You did a good thing, Tenma," Ochanomizu smiled warmly.

Tenma smirked. "This hardly makes up for all the bad things I've done."

"Still, a start is a start. And you have to start somewhere," Ochanomizu said. "How do you feel?"

"You know, I actually feel rather good," Tenma had to admit. "How odd."

"Well, you did something good for someone else. Nothing odd about feeling good about that," Ochanomizu smiled a little defeated.

"Ah, I see," Tenma nodded stroking his beard. "You think this is the right thing to do?" he asked. "The body I gave Phenias serves no purpose. It can't do any work that is important for humans. It only exists for Phenias' own enjoyment. That is all."

"I think that's what makes it wonderful."

"Huh."

"You don't understand at all what I'm getting at, do you?"

"No, I don't," Tenma replied but then he smiled. "But I'll take your word for it." He held out his arm and allowed the robot bird to land on it. "How was it? Did you experience any troubles with your flight?"

Phenias shook his head. "Not one bit, it was wonderful! I was gliding on the wind! Did you see me, creator?"

"I saw," Tenma assured. "You were a proud sight in the sky"

"Creator, is this a dream?"

"No," Tenma smiled.

"I changed my mind!" Uran then stated as she jumped up on Astro's back. "Your father is great!"

"Yeah," Astro nodded. "Yeah he is."


	18. The end

In the following days, word started to spread around Metro City about a beautiful bird that would fly through the sky, and if you were especially lucky, you would be able to hear its song. Rumors started to spread that seeing the bird meant good luck and hearing its song meant that fortune was headed your way. It seemed the mystery surrounding the blue bird with the red markings only made people that much more awestruck by it.

From what most of Metro City could tell, it had appeared out of nowhere.

Of course, this wasn't true. Phenias had come from Tenma's hands and every night he would fly back to Tenma's apartment, where he would nest in his very own charging station, which was mounted on the wall in Tenma's private workshop.

"You could fly way further," Astro reminded the bird one late evening it had come home. "You don't need to get back to this power station specifically."

"But I want to come back here!" Phenias returned. "Is that a big problem?"

"No, not at all," Tenma smirked, amused.

"Are you sure?" Phenias pressed. "I… I did awful things to you, creator. I don't deserve this."

"Well, Phenias," Tenma said, "you're not the only one who needed a second chance at some point. Isn't that right, Astro?" he asked, patting Astro on the head.

" I see what you mean, father," Astro smiled.

Phenias continued his routine of flying out early each morning and coming back home late in the evening, though suddenly one day he was not alone. An old and worn out robot stood in front of Tenma's door.

Confused, Tenma looked at the old maid robot.

"Creator," Phenias spoke from where he sat on the maid robot's shoulder. "This is Tabitha. You probably don't remember her, but she was in the robot village."

"Phenias, isn't Tabitha supposed to be in police custody?" he asked. "I can't hide her here. If they find her here with me, I'll be in serious trouble. Do you realize that?"

"But, creator," Phenias tried. "Tabitha used to be a maid at a big house, and all she wants is to be a maid again, to help humans. You can fix her, can't you? You can make her new again, even make her look different!"

"Well…. I erh," Tenma hesitated, stepping backwards.

"Sir," the robot maid then spoke quietly. "I… I was once part of a family, a human family. When I was with them, I was needed. I loved it there; that's how I want to live. I don't want to live running from place to place, always trying to hide. I want to be of use. You're my only hope. Please, sir!"

For a moment, Tenma stared at her, then sighed deeply. "Fine," he said. "Come in, quickly." He gently put a hand on Tabitha's back and guided her inside. "Okay, let's sit down for a bit." He showed her to the living room and they sat down. "What exactly is it you would want from me?"

"Sir?" Tabitha looked up.

Tenma exhaled deeply as he folded his hands. "I can indeed repair you, I can modify you as well, and if you wish to be at peace, it'll probably be for the better if I change your appearance. However, I want to make absolutely sure that your future body will be a body you yourself are pleased with." He leaned forwards. "So, Tabitha, tell me about yourself," he prompted. "Tell me what it is you like to do, and what you wish to do in the future."

Astounded, Tabitha looked up at Tenma. "Yes, sir," she said. "Well, to be honest I… I've always wanted to be able to plant flowers."

 

* * *

 

 

For three hours, Tenma listened to Tabitha. He asked questions, wrote down her answers, and listened intensely. By then it was night and Tenma went to bed. However the following morning he gently put Tabitha down on his work table. "I'm going to turn you off now," Tenma informed her in a gentle voice. "It'll be like you are a sleep, and when you wake up, your body will have been modified and changed."

The robot smiled up at him. "Thank you," she said.

Tenma found the correct switch and turned off the bot.

 

* * *

 

 

Astro was very surprised when he arrived at Tenma's apartment that afternoon to see the workshop he had made for him actually being used!

Curiously, Astro looked at the robot lying on the worktable, opened up exposing all the wires and its like inside. "What are you doing, father?" he asked.

"Right now, basic repairs," Tenma replied. "Afterwards, a few upgrades and modifications."

"You're fixing her!" Astro realised. "That's great. Where did she come from?"

Tenma rolled his eyes. "Phenias brought her to my front door," he informed. "She asked to be fixed up so she could find a new family to work for. This had better not become a habbit of his!"

 

* * *

 

 

It did become a habit. Suddenly, he would regularly send robots to Tenma's doorstep, each one asking to be either repaired or modified, with nowhere else to go.

Soon Tenma even had a waiting list, with several robots camping out in his living room waiting for their turn. But at the same time, Tenma couldn't just speed up the process; he needed to talk to each and every one of them to determine how he would carry out any repairs, and he refused to do a crappy repair of modification.

Though the sight of all the broken robots camping in his living room made Tenma groan. "This… can't work out for much longer," he concluded.

Astounded, Astro stood beside him. "You could send some of them to the Ministry of Science," he suggested.

"Well, the Ministry of Science may be able to repair a few, but eventually they'll have to start charging fees," Tenma informed Astro. "And there doesn't seem to be any end to them. No, if this is going to continue, I need a bigger workspace."

"You mean… like an official bigger workshop?" Astro asked.

"Probably, yes," Tenma sighed. "I am not badly off, I have decent fortune in the bank, but even I have my limits. I wouldn't be able to keep such a non-profit workshop going."

"Don't you have a lot of people who owe you favors?"

Tenma paused. "Hu,." he remarked. "That is true. I wonder..."

 

* * *

 

 

It was incredible what could happen if you just reached out. It seemed like no time at all before Tenma was standing in his very own private workshop downtown; the rooms had even been graciously donated to him by one of the many people who felt like they owed him.

Soon, the workshop itself was buzzing with life; robot life that was. Robots who had been broken and thrown out, came to him for help.

In the back of the workshop there were charging stations and rest areas for the robots who were waiting their turn. In the front there were all the parts you could dream of donated from the Ministry of Science once Ochanomizu had realized what Tenma was up to.

Eventually Reno came down and started to work there as well. He more than anyone loved the place; he loved to help and fix the older robot models, and eagerly listened to Tenma's advice upon robotic engineering.

Other young robotics engineers would soon join well: to be able to work under the great Dr Tenma was beyond a marvelous opportunity! The only requirement was that they worked for free. The entire thing was non-profit and everyone there were volunteers.

There never seemed to be quiet at the workshop. There was always something to do and time just flew by. The biggest change, though, seemed to be in Tenma himself. He seemed happy, and he was actually smiling and laughing. Sure, sometimes he would retreat when he'd had enough human interaction, but he would come back eventually and a whole new side of him seemed to emerge.

It was pretty rare for the workshop to be quiet. This evening, though, was one of the rare occasions. Tenma was sitting by his work desk, developing a new design for one of the robots who needed modifications. Suddenly, his hand brushed against a picture frame and Tenma looked up to see the photo of Tobio. Sighing deeply, he picked up the photo and looked at it, smiling a little sadly.

"He would have loved all of this," a small voice sounded and Tenma turned his head to see a certain small robot coming towards him. "I know that for a fact, because I love it."

Tenma smiled, amused, as he put the photo away. "What brings you here so late, Astro?" he asked.

"I just wanted to see you," Astro said. "You're almost never at the apartment anymore; you're just as busy as Ochanomizu always is!"

"I'm sorry," he said, then offered Astro a hand and pulled him up onto his lap. "It will soon be spring, so the zoo will be opening again. We should go one of these days."

"Absolutely!" Astro grinned. Then he sighed contently as he leaned against Tenma. "I knew you could do it, father," he said. "I'm so proud of you. I love you."

Tenma smiled as he wrapped his arms around Astro. "I love you too, Astro."

 

* * *

 

 

Something surprising had happened. Tenma had agreed to be part of a press conference; had actually agreed to stand in front of cameras and journalists. And no one had pointed a gun at his head! At least, that Astro knew of.

"We are indeed very surprised," a journalist next to Tenma said, "that you would agree."

"Well, I actually have something to say. That is why," Tenma replied.

"Well then, Dr Tenma," the journalist said, "say what you wish to say. The world is listening."

Tenma glanced down then stepped towards the microphone. "Some years ago," he started, "my colleague and successor, Professor Ochanomizu, coined the term 'the robot heart'. At that time, I thought it was a rather silly concept. To assume robots have hearts is to assume they have feelings. And if they have feelings, they must indeed be alive. The thought, to me, was ludicrous," he said. "However, as it happens, robots do have feelings. They have hearts. They are alive. It is humans who create robots, which makes robots the children of humans. They are our children, yet, it is us, the parents, who have been neglectful." He paused. "Robots turn to us to learn and develop, and when we deny them that right, we are denying them the right to grow and have a life. We humans, we put the robots into this world, it is our responsibility to see that robots are treated well and will have lives worth living. If we do not, robots will indeed rebel and we will have been the architects of our own doom. This is my warning to humanity: we the humans are the parents, and the robots are our children. However, one day all children grow up and they'll either rebel or support their elders. It all depends on how we treat them first. If we do well, if we just listen to them, there'll be nothing to fear. Robots, as Professor Ochanomizu always loves to point out, just want to be our friends and they will be our friends if we just let them be. More than friends even; they can be family too. It is my sincere wish that my message will reach at least some of you and that you will turn to your friends and family members, and listen to them before it is to late. I know it is a scary thought, to realize that robots are alive; the ramifications of that are enormous, but it is still true. We made them, they are here now, alive, and we cannot just throw them away and pretend they were never there. Your only choice if you wish to move forwards is to acknowledge them as they are. Humanity's children." He bowed his head. "That is all I had to say." He turned away.

For a moment there was dead quiet. All the journalists were silent as they processed this, and then a big roar sounded as multiple yells and screams came at the same time, calling out Tenma's name, asking a pleferal of questions. Tenma didn't respond. He had said his piece. He walked directly over to his waiting family:

Astro, Ochanomizu, Uran, Reno, and even Phenias.

Astro ran to him and jumped up, allowing Tenma to pick him up.

"That was amazing, father!" Astro cheered.

"Uncle Tenma!" Uran exclaimed, grabbing his leg in a hug.

Ochanomizu smiled. "You sure have changed a lot, Tenma."

"Have I?" Tenma asked. "Ah, I suppose it doesn't matter."

"I sure am happy!" Astro smiled.

"I am proud to have been created by you," Phenias said from where he sat on top of Reno's head.

Reno almost went cross-eyed trying to look up and catch a glimpse of the bird. Then, finally, he shook his head. "It sure was something."

"Well then, let's get out of here," Ochanomizu said. "I trust you all know where we are headed."

"To the zoo!" Uran cheered throwing both arms in the air.

"Exactly!" Reno grinned and Tenma smiled, amused.

Of course, this wasn't the end of Tenma's life, or many of the obstacles that would still faze him, but one thing wouldn't change. For the first time in such a long time, he was at peace. He was happy. And he knew no matter what happened, he had done good things too. Good things that benefitted his many children out there.

In fact, in a way, Tenma ended up considering himself a pretty lucky man, to be loved by so many.

_The end._


End file.
